Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/big-cat-public-safety-act/

The success of Netflix’s Tiger King documentary series for a short time drove up attendance at a number of controversial zoos linked to flagrant animal abuse. It also set off a movement to protect big cats in the United States, which are one step closer to getting crucial protections from the federal government.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act has been passed out of committee and faces a vote by the House of Representatives. The US House Natural Resources Committee voted 25-17 to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA, HR263).

The bill aims to ban private possession of big cats (lions, tigers, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars, and certain leopards as well as hybrids), eliminate public contact at “roadside zoos,” and increase restrictions on the breeding, trade, and exploitation of the animals.

According to a release from Animal Defenders International (ADI), the bill draws a careful distinction “between backyard breeders, and those recognized and accredited as Species Protection Programs, ex situ conservation at accredited zoos, and those wildlife sanctuaries meeting standards similar to the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (i.e. no commercial trade, breeding, direct contact, or offsite exhibition).”

As The Guardian reports, there are more tigers in American backyards than there are left in the wild. Sadly, many of these animals face a dismal existence.

Big cats held captive in backyard zoos and breeding facilities are pulled from their mothers too soon, and relegated to a confinement, exploitation, overbreeding (if they are female), and physical abuse, the Humane Society reports. Once a tiger has grown too old or too big to be profitable, they could be sold off to unscrupulous buyers or euthanized and discarded like trash.

There is currently no way of telling how many big cats are bred, sold, traded, or killed in the US.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, only 6% of America’s captive tiger population lives in zoos and facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. The rest of those cats are privately owned.

“In some states, it is easier to buy a tiger than to adopt a dog from a local animal shelter,” says the WWF.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act would drastically change this, and is now headed to the floor for a vote by the full House of Representatives.

“I have been working on this legislation for over 3 years and we are now one step closer to seeing it become law. Over the years, the world has seen the dangers of owning big cats, not just for the animals themselves but for the communities in which they are kept. When these big cats escape, first responders are put in immense danger. My legislation will bring an end to housing big cats in inhumane, unsafe conditions and will keep neighborhoods and law enforcement safe,” said Representative Mike Quigley, sponsor of the bill. “I am grateful to the committee for moving this bill forward, and hope it will soon come to the floor of the House of Representatives so it can receive the vote it deserves.”

“Our thanks to Representative Quigley for sponsoring this important legislation to ban the backyard breeding and private ownership of these magnificent animals,” said ADI President Jan Creamer. “It is time to put an end to the horrific scenes of babies ripped from their mothers at birth, and tiny cubs passed around as photo props. Truly a life of misery for big cats.”

Senate companion bill S1210 is sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal. Should it also receive a favorable vote in the Senate, the Big Cat Public Safety Act will become law.

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Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog