Allegations that donor money was stolen and animals were mistreated at the Wildcat Sanctuary in Pine County are false, but the refuge did experience a period of turmoil, two board members said Monday.
Meanwhile, Tammy Quist Thies, who founded the sanctuary, was reinstated Monday as executive director after months of being in charge of fundraising. "We are looking forward," she said.
The nonprofit sanctuary harbors big wildcats, including lions and tigers, that were abandoned by private owners or became threats to public safety in Minnesota. About 100 cats live behind locked fences in a rural area near Sandstone, Minn., in a refuge funded by private donations.
Gail Plewacki, who chairs the board, said an independent audit of finances was commissioned this fall. "What it told us was that we didn't lose any money, no one's stealing from the sanctuary, period," she said.
The sanctuary has an annual budget of about $850,000, which includes staff salaries and the care and feeding of wildcats.
Some donors and volunteers alleged that money was missing and wildcats were being neglected. Peggy Callahan, one of the new board members, said "disgruntled people" started rumors that led to upheaval at the sanctuary.
"It's a bunch of hostile hearsay," she said. "Nothing will stand up in the light of day. There's nothing to see."
Four of the sanctuary's six board members are new, and a keeper of the cats resigned, Callahan said.
