Wild Animals Forced to Perform, Confined to Barren Cages at This Roadside Zoo—Take Action!

Big Cat Habitat in Sarasota, Florida, is a roadside zoo owned and operated by the Rosaires—a notorious family that has exploited wild animals in abusive circus shows for decades. They force wild animals to perform demeaning tricks in front of gawking crowds and peddle high-dollar public encounters with capybaras, foxes, lemurs, and other animals. Animals who aren’t used for performances or encounters are left to languish in cramped, barren enclosures.

When Big Cat Habitat isn’t forcing the big cats to perform, it confines them to concrete cells, only periodically giving them access to natural ground and swimming pools. PETA has previously documented that a tiger named Barry had apparent large calluses on his front legs—likely a result of living on concrete—and was seen sucking his own tail, a self-injurious behavior often caused by stress and environmental deprivation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cited Big Cat Habitat for failing to provide primates with adequate enrichment; failing to maintain safe, sanitary enclosures and provide animals with clean drinking water; and failing to provide sufficient public barriers to protect animals and humans. In 2023, it received an official warning for allowing a visitor to have direct contact with a juvenile jaguar, and in 2026, it was cited for allowing lemurs to climb directly onto people and get dangerously close to participants’ faces during a yoga encounter.

Animals at Big Cat Habitat are treated like nothing more than props for human amusement. Please urge the Rosaires to retire these animals to reputable sanctuaries, where they would never be forced to perform again and could get the care that they desperately need.

Please send polite comments to:

Kay and Clay Rosaire
[email protected]

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