Senators across the aisle introduced legislation on Monday that would restrict the private ownership of “big cats” such as lions, tigers, and cheetahs.
Democratic Sens. Tom Carper and Richard Blumenthal, along with Republican Sens. Richard Burr and Susan Collins, introduced the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would prohibit the possession of big cats by unlicensed individuals and also restricts direct contact between the public and big cats, including cubs.
“This legislation is a win-win,” Carper, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, said in a statement. “It would prevent big cats from living in inhumane conditions and protect the public from the safety implications of these beautiful creatures being kept as pets.”
‘TICKING TIME BOMB’: STUDY OUTLINES SEVERE EFFECTS DISPOSABLE FACE MASKS HAVE ON WILDLIFE
“Big cats like lions, tigers, and cheetahs belong in their natural habitats, not in the hands of private owners where they are too often subject to cruelty or improper care,” Sen. Collins said in a news release obtained by the Washington Examiner, adding, “Our bipartisan bill would prohibit the private ownership of big cats, which threatens the safety of the animals and the public and harms conservation efforts.”
In the release, Collins’s office took direct aim at Netflix for its Tiger King series, which followed the lives of several individuals who privately owned big cats, ran sanctuaries, or wildlife attractions, citing the show as a reason for the legislation.
The show “greatly raised public awareness of the rampant animal welfare abuses and public safety issues involved in private ownership of big cats,” the release said, adding, “The series showed the abysmal conditions big cats, including tigers, lions, and leopards, as well as their cubs, live in throughout the United States and the immense risks private ownership of these animals pose for the individuals who keep them, the general public, and the animals themselves.”
The senator’s office continued, saying, “Cub-handling attractions and petting zoos cause irreparable harm to the cubs, which are often separated from their mothers at an extremely young age and pose a danger to humans, who may be bitten or scratched.”
Carole Baskin, one of the founders of Big Cat Rescue and a main character in Tiger King, told the Washington Examiner that her husband, Howard, “has been the driving force behind this federal bill to end cub abuse and phase out private possession of big cats.” Featured in the series, Big Cat Rescue calls itself “one of the largest accredited sanctuaries in the world dedicated to abused and abandoned big cats.”
In a separate emailed statement to the Washington Examiner, Howard Baskin cheered the legislation restricting big cat ownership, saying it “has enormously more momentum than ever before.”
“We are particularly thrilled to have it introduced in the Senate on a bipartisan basis so early in the session,” Baskin said, adding, “We have high expectations for it passing the session.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The House passed a similar bill during the last Congress, but it was not taken up in the Senate. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley and Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick reintroduced the legislation in the House in January.
