Find out about Valley of the Kings Sanctuary

Three Brothers We are a private, non-profit, tax-exempt charity (501(c)3). We have a board of directors with Jill E. Carnegie as our President and founder. Jill and her husband, Jim Tomasi, live in a modest farm house, with the animals they care for and love dearly.

We are 90% publicly funded with the rest coming from our family. Our very existence depends on donations from our members, friends and a dedicated core of volunteers.

Mission Statement

The mission of Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat is to provide a home for abused, abandoned, retired, and injured large felid's, exotic and domestic non-human animals.

We give the best available diet, housing, veterinary care and positive human interaction. Valley of the Kings educates the general public concerning the bond between human and non-human animals in the natural world.

We also teach that private and commercial ownership, hunting for profit or sport, and the destruction of natural habitat will mean eventual extinction for these creatures. Lastly, we teach that when we remove animals from the wild, we take their freedom and wildness, the essence of their being.

Where are We?

We're in a rural area in Southern Wisconsin, in the heart of dairy land. We have 10 acres of farmland, our family home, which we share with lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, bears, horses, cows, foxes, and other "misfits" who manage to find shelter with us. Each animal has shelter form the weather; some have spacious pens, other pens are currently under construction so we can provide larger areas for the big cats.

Our History

We began caring for exotic animals over thirty years ago. We were under the misconception that breeding large felid's was an appropriate endeavor. Fortunately, we found out how wrong we were before we brought any into the world. Large cats started pouring in that had nowhere else to go. We did not have a enclosure to put them in and had to turn two tigers down -- then reclaim them (see Sammy & Farah's Story). That was why we opened our sanctuary to public support. Since then, we have never had to turn away a needy animal, although things have been very very tight.

We tried placing Farah & Sammy with disastrous results. The cats we have placed in what we believed to be a safe, humane home were horribly abused. We do not find home for the animals here. This is their home, their last stop and their last chance. (The cats that come here remain permantly and when they die we bury them here at our cemetery with respect and dignity.) Also unwanted retired and abandoned domestic and farm animals. Our ultimate goal is for humankind to take responsibility for that which he creates out of greed and care properly for the animals that are in need of protection. Until that time, we will provide a sanctuary and education toward that goal.