Right now in the U.S., thousands of tigers, lions, cheetahs and other big cats are cruelly forced into unregulated "ownership" for human amusement.
Confined to backyards, breeding compounds or decrepit roadside attractions, many are ripped from their mothers just days after birth and suffer severe malnutrition because their owners fail to properly feed them.
Many of the cats are brutally declawed, leading to lifelong disability. Confined to tiny concrete enclosures or kept on chains, the animals suffer from circulation problems, cracked foot-pads, and other painful conditions -- as well as severe psychological trauma.
Keeping big cats in captivity is also extremely dangerous for humans, who are at grave risk of being mauled or killed.
Three Congress members have introduced The Big Cat Public Safety Act, a bill that will finally end ownership of big cats by unaccredited animal exhibitors and those who simply want to keep the cats as pets.
Of the estimated 5,000 to 7,000 big cats in the United States, fewer than 400 live in accredited zoos (which already fail to provide adequate living conditions). The rest are owned privately by people who may have no clue how to care for the animals.
One of the reasons so many people own big cats is because there is no federal law against it. This new bill will save countless animals from lives of abuse and neglect.
Sign this petition to urge Congress to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and save both cats and humans from misery and pain.
