Controversial lion sanctuary opens doors for rap video

Despite a new local bylaw that bans ownership of lions, tigers and other exotic animals, CBC News has learned that the Roaring Cat Retreat in Grand Bend recently allowed a London rapper to shoot a music video on the property inside the lions' cage.

Rapper Capser Marcus says he shot the video for his song Heart of A Lion at the controversial animal sanctuary on Aug. 7. The video is set for release next month and Marcus admits he was at first uneasy at the idea of stepping inside a lion's cage.

"It was a little bit scary, a bunch of lions, but they fed them food and trained me for an hour on how to handle situations," said Marcus. "I took a risk for the artistic part of it but it was a great experience, it was a blessing."

Marcus said he paid Roaring Cat staff for their time and also paid an insurance fee. He also said two trainers were with him and his camera operator inside in the cage for the 10 minutes it took to shoot footage for the video. 

"[The lions] ate 20 pounds of chicken before I was in there so I think that was one of the deterrents to not getting eaten," he joked. "The lion was very cool. It turned around, it looked at me, it gave me like a little head butt. I gave it a little pet. It was a real cool experience, an up-close experience with wildlife."

Roaring Cat has stirred controversy in Grand Bend since Mark Drysdale and Tammy Nyyssonnen announced plans earlier this year to open the sanctuary, which specializes in big cats, such as lions and tigers. Also on site are lemurs, turtles, bobcats and mini horses. Their plan was to open in June on the property in the VanDongen subdivision in the tourist town near the shores of Lake Huron.

By April, Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber told CBC News the municipality was "looking at options" to address some neighbours' safety concerns. Later that month, the municipality passed a bylaw that bans the ownership of certain exotic animals, including lions, tigers and lemurs. 

A spokesperson for the municipality confirmed this week that the property owner has been charged under the new bylaw and is also charged with operating a business in an area zoned for residential use. 

Both parties are next due in court on Oct. 16 to set a pretrial date. 

Retreat owner is suing back

Meanwhile, Drysdale is suing the municipality. CBC News contacted Drysdale for comment on Tuesday but did not receive a reply. CBC News also contacted for comment his lawyer Paula Lombardi. She responded by email, saying details of her client's case are subject to solicitor-client privilege.

In an interview with CBC News in June, Drysdale said he had always been upfront with municipal officials about his plans for the property. Drysdale said he'd been led to believe the retreat would be allowed to operate as a "legal non-conforming" operation, because the property had been the former home to Pine Ridge Zoo, which first opened in 1950.

"We had meetings with the town planner to let him know exactly what we were gonna do," he said. "We had a schematic done up on how we were going to use the property." 

Drysdale said the municipality's change in direction with the exotic pet bylaw amounts to "shady dealings on their side." 

The new bylaw bans the ownership of a wide range of exotic animals, including big cats such as lions and tigers along with primates, bears, elephants, alligators, crocodiles, any snake over three metres in length and all types of venomous animals and spiders. 

The rap video shoot isn't the only time the retreat has hosted visitors recently. Roaring Cat's Facebook page features photos taken by visitors during open houses held there this summer. Drysdale estimates about 1,000 people took advantage of the offer to see his operations up close.

In posts on the review section of Roaring Cat's Facebook page, many said they enjoyed the visit and will come back. 

Others said the property isn't the right place for the animals. It's not clear whether the people who posted the negative reviews visited the property.  

A spokesperson for the municipality would not speak in a recorded interview but said staff are continuing to monitor the property. 

In his interview with CBC in June, Drysdale said the biggest misconception about his business is that his lions and other animals on his property are taken from the wild. He says the creatures at Roaring Cat were born and raised in captivity and often come to him because they need a new home. 

"People don't really want to hear the truth," he said. "We try to take animals that are in a bad situation."

Meanwhile Marcus said his experience at Roaring Cat was positive, and he believes the animals there are well cared for. 

"It's an animal sanctuary that's helping animals that wouldn't be adaptable if they were in wildlife," he said. "It's not like they're making millions of dollars."