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Protect big cats

Update 8/1/2022: We have a huge win to celebrate. The Big Cat Public Safety Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives! Please help us keep the momentum going by contacting your two U.S. Senators right now and urging them to support passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210.

We’ve all seen pictures on the internet of people hugging, feeding, or playing with tiger or lion cubs. Behind these pictures is a cruel and dangerous cycle of animal exploitation. Roadside zoos breed big cats to produce cubs for use in interactive experiences for paying visitors. The cubs are taken from their mothers as newborns, depriving them of proper maternal care and harming their development. After just a few months, the cubs are too big to be easily handled, so they are warehoused in substandard menageries, sold as pets to be kept in backyards or basements, or killed. Meanwhile, to maintain the cash flow from “cub-petting” activities, new cubs are produced to replace the ones who age out, resulting in a never-ending cycle of big cats being born, used for public encounters, and cruelly disposed of.

This is not only an animal welfare issue, but also a public safety issue. Even when captive-born and raised by people, wild animals retain their natural instincts. They can, and do, injure and kill people. Careless handling and unsafe caging are often the norm among unqualified owners, and captive big cats take every opportunity to escape. Attacks and escapes put communities and first responders at risk. Few people will forget the October 2011 incident in Zanesville, Ohio, in which the owner of a private menagerie released dozens of big cats and other wild animals near a community, forcing a lockdown and requiring law enforcement to kill the cats—and risk their own lives—for the sake of public safety.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210, addresses these problems by prohibiting public contact with big cats of any age, as well as by banning the possession of big cat species as pets.

TAKE ACTION
Please take a moment to call your two U.S. Senators now. Find your legislators' phone numbers. You can say, "Please support passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210. This legislation recently passed the House and will stop harmful public contact with big cats and prevent them from being kept as pets."

After your calls, use the form below to send a follow-up message to each of your two Senators. Editing your message will help it stand out.

This action alert is for U.S. residents. International advocates, please visit Humane Society International.

Your Message

Subject*

Dear Senator,

As your constituent, I urge you to support passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210.

Introduced by Senators Richard Blumenthal, Susan Collins, Tom Carper and Richard Burr, this legislation would advance animal welfare and protect public safety by prohibiting public contact with big cats such as tigers, lions, and leopards, and by prohibiting the possession of these species as pets. The House just passed the companion bill, H.R. 263, led by Representatives Mike Quigley and Brian Fitzpatrick, by a strong bipartisan vote of 278 to 134.

This is an animal welfare issue. Big cats kept in private hands often do not receive proper veterinary care, nutrition, housing or behavioral enrichment. The cruel cycle of breeding tiger and lion cubs for the paying public to pet and play with has created a surplus of big cats relegated to small cages in substandard facilities and private menageries across the country.

This is also a public safety issue. Improperly maintained captive big cats injure, and even kill, people. Law enforcement officers and other first responders are at particular risk from such animals, which is why the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the Small & Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association have endorsed the legislation. Emergency officials and the communities they protect should not be put in harm’s way by a private owner’s irresponsible decision to keep big cats.

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