Don't Allow Baby Big Cats to be Exploited in Kansas - Oppose SB 97!

A private zoo owner is trying to repeal Kansas' common-sense exotic animal regulations in order to exploit baby tigers, leopards, and cheetahs for profit - and his efforts are dangerously close to becoming law!

Ten years ago, the state of Kansas, like many U.S. states, had virtually no restrictions on the private ownership of exotic, endangered, and dangerous animals. Big cats, bears, and primates could be bred, exhibited, sold, and owned by just about anyone, with little to no government oversight. It was a recipe for disaster that put the welfare of both humans and animals at risk. Unfortunately, laws to regulate the United States' largely unchecked exotic animal industry are slow to change - until tragedy strikes.

On August 18, 2005, 17 year old Haley Hilderbrand visited a privately-owned animal facility in Mound Valley, Kansas. She wanted to have her senior photos taken while posing with a Bengal Tiger named Shakka, as many of her peers had done.  It had become a rite of passage among the local high school students to take photos with the facility's big cats, and usually, nothing went wrong - until one moment of instinct ended two lives.

As the teenager straddled the chained tiger near the end of the photo shoot, Shakka licked the girl's foot. Haley jerked her foot away and screamed, startling the animal, which stood up and knocked the girl to the ground. The tiger broke Haley's neck with one swipe of his huge paw, killing her instantly. The tiger's owner yanked on the cat's leash in vain, unable to stop the 550-lb. predator from mauling the girl. Finally, the owner's teenage nephew grabbed a .22 caliber handgun and shot Shakka over ten times before the tiger finally collapsed. Paramedics tried to revive Haley, but she was "bitten severely" and pronounced dead at the scene.

After the tragedy, Haley's family urged Kansas lawmakers to pass the Dangerous Regulated Animals Act, a common-sense law which banned the private ownership of big cats, bears, and primates, required existing owners to have their animals microchipped and registered with the state, prohibited all public contact with these animals, and, with the exception of accredited zoos, banned the breeding, exhibition, or trade of such species. The legislation was quickly signed into law, and since then, Kansas has been a model state for keeping animals and humans safe.

Now, unbelievably, at the urging of one private exhibitor who wants to exploit big cat cubs at his zoo, Kansas legislators are about to throw all of this progress away.

S.B. 97, which has already passed the Kansas State Senate, would repeal the Dangerous Regulated Animals Act, put people at risk, and sentence hundreds of tigers, leopards, and other big cats to a lifetime of abuse and neglect.

If this law passes:

•  Unscrupulous exhibitors would be allowed to exploit baby big cats for profit. Members of the public would be allowed to hold, handle, or even possess temporary custody of a "dangerous regulated animal" if it weighs 10 lbs. or less, and come into contact with it if it weighs no more than 40 lbs. and is on a leash.

These "cub petting" exhibits are inherently cruel. While on display, the baby big cats are routinely mistreated and denied everything that is natural to them. After a few weeks, when they are too large to handle safely, they are either euthanized or discarded into the shady, unregulated exotic animal trade, which is second only to the illegal trade in drugs and weapons when it comes to profit. The growing cubs are often sold to decrepit roadside zoos, chained up in backyards as private pets, are sent to canned hunts to be shot for trophies, or are slaughtered and sold for their parts, which encourages further poaching of wildlife.

The discarded cubs are then quickly replaced by the exhibitors, which often run puppy-mill style breeding factories in order to pump out as many litters as possible. A single exhibitor might need to breed - and discard - as many as 200 tigers for just one season of business! What's more, parading baby lions, leopards, and tigers around on a leash is far from educational. It sends the dangerous message that these animals make good pets - and that can have tragic consequences.

• Cheetahs and clouded leopards would be removed from the "dangerous regulated animal" list, and therefore be exempt from all regulations. Any private citizen would be allowed to own these animals, with no oversight.

This section of the bill was added because the exhibitor who created it wants to be able to bring cheetah and leopard cubs to schools so that the students can interact with them. But baby big cats belong with their mothers - not being dragged around to schools and handled by children. And even the smallest big cats can severely scratch and bite someone, or transmit zoonotic diseases, such as ringworm, to humans. This is why the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians have both issued statements recommending that the public be prohibited from handling wild cats of any size. It's bad for people and bad for animals.

This law is already a shocking step backward, but it gets worse. Under the proposed legislation:

• Facilities which have been "accredited" by the private Zoological Association of America (ZAA) would be exempt from reporting their inventory of animals to local and state governments, and would no longer be subject to the law mandating that all exotic animals be handled by a "registered designated handler" who has been trained, vetted, and approved by Kansas' Secretary of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism.

But the ZAA has more in common with an exotic animal owner's club than a legitimate accreditation scheme. It promotes the private breeding of exotic animals that cannot be traced back to the wild and thus could never serve any conservation value. They list their primary purpose as a "trade organization" and to "protect and defend the right to own exotic and domestic animals." And despite its professional-looking list of "standards", ZAA members include felons, wildlife traffickers, roadside zoos, and backyard breeders, who seem to only need to pay a fee to receive their credentials.

Since the organization's founding in 2005, ZAA facilities have been responsible for at least a dozen serious animal attacks - one resulting in a death - many animal escapes, and countless violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

The director of one ZAA zoo has been called “sick and sadistic” by his staff for his habit of killing animals by shooting them, slamming them into walls, and feeding them to other animals. Another ZAA accredited company captures baby elephants from the wild and subjects them to severe beatings and electrical shocks to "break" them for use in circuses and movies. In 2002, a ZAA accredited owner was convicted for selling endangered tigers and leopards to an animal killing ring. And in 2012, a ZAA facility in South Africa was suspected of illegally transporting rhinos into Vietnam. Under SB 97, these facilities would be considered "professionals" exempt from law enforcement oversight!

It's no surprise that SB 97 is the brainchild of the vice-chair of the ZAA, who also runs his own for-profit exotic animal park in Kansas. He wants to be able to breed and exploit baby big cats again and has tailor-made this bill for his business. In his words, "...this bill is going to allow us to use those cubs to create an awesome experience for the public, so that they can further connect with those animals."

But one exhibitor shouldn't be able to make his own laws.

Not when so many people - including the family of Haley Hilderbrand, who paid the ultimate price for the lack of legislation - have voiced their support in favor of the current regulations.

Appallingly, Kansas legislators have shown that they're willing to gamble with public safety, animal welfare, and wildlife in order to cater to the whims of profit-hungry businesses. SB 97 is currently in the House Standing Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources, one of the last hurdles it has to clear before becoming law.

But there's still time to stop it.

This isn't the first time that the ZAA has attempted to overturn common-sense laws protecting people and wildlife. In the past, they've tried to eliminate similar regulations in Michigan, Texas, and Louisiana - but every single one of their attempts was stopped after public outcry by people like you.

By signing this petition, we can send a strong message to Kansas legislators, urging them to protect animals - and humans - by rejecting any changes to the Dangerous Regulated Animals Act. For an even bigger impact, share this petition with friends, and don't forget to leave a comment if you're a Kansas resident.

Together, we can put an end to this misguided bill and prevent future exotic animal tragedies - in Kansas and throughout the United States.