Legal / Regulatory

December 04, 2020 - Animal Wellness Action

USA: House Votes to Ban Trade in Big Cats as Pets and as Props For Roadside Zoos

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act tonight by a vote of 272 to 114, eight months after the salacious reality television series “Tiger King” put the animal welfare and public safety issues of private ownership of tigers and lions on the American radar screen.

The legislation seeks to ban the trade in big cats as pets and to halt exploitation of the animals for cub petting at roadside zoos — two forms of commerce that have been creating a stream of big cats who soon get too big and dangerous to handle and then are discarded by the industry and face subsequent peril. Animal Wellness Action, Big Cat Rescue, the Animal Wellness Foundation, the Center for a Humane Economy, and SPCA International were among a major set of animal welfare, law enforcement, and conservation groups backing the measure.

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