TERRELL, Texas — It took Valeri Marler of Crosstimbers Wildlife Center in Terrell nearly three decades to build her bobcat rescue. Her independent, at-home rescue houses 62 bobcats that were once pets and were then passed on.
She knew running a rescue would have its ups and downs. But she never could have predicted the coronavirus, which is now putting the rescue in jeopardy.
"Everybody is scared right now. Everybody is scared," Marler said.
She contracts with a group to get expired raw meat for her bobcats from grocery stores. But in the last five weeks, she's only been getting one-fourth of what she needs. They normally get around 6,000 pounds of meat a week.
"Who really thinks there would not be a piece of meat left in a grocery store?" Marler said.
When shoppers panic-buy meat at stores, it doesn't stay on the shelves long enough to expire. And that results in stores having nothing left to give food banks, and then down the line to rescues.
"We had to cut back to a quarter of their normal feed just so that we can keep them healthy," she said.
Marler said she also noticed a change in the behavior of her bobcats.
"The more hungry they become the more forward they become," she said.
Donations are down and Marler says all the savings have been spent for feed. She told WFAA that many smaller independent rescues are struggling as well.
While WFAA was at Crosstimbers Wildlife Center, a neighbor named Allen had stopped by to drop off some meat.
"It's expired. It was in our freezer and I heard they needed some so I brought it out," the neighbor said.
Marler says she is thankful for the neighbors who have helped. She is also thankful for the hunters who have donated their kills.
If you'd like to help Crosstimbers Wildlife Center with meat donations the only rule is that the meat is not seasoned. Those donations can be dropped off at the location. The group also welcomes financial donations to help them buy food.
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