Stop Animal Abuse at Roadside Zoos. Support the Big Cat Public Safety Act!

We've all seen photos on the internet of people hugging, feeding, or playing with tiger or lion cubs. Netflix's recent docuseries "Tiger King" shines a spotlight on this practice. But what "Tiger King" does not show is the cycle of cruel and dangerous animal exploitation that makes these photo-ops possible.

Roadside zoos breed big cats to produce cubs, then use them 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 handled safely, so they are warehoused in substandard menageries, kept as pets in backyards or basements, or killed. Meanwhile, to maintain the cash flow from public contact activities, new cubs are produced to replace the ones that age out, resulting in a never-ending cycle of big cats being born, used for public contact, and cruelly disposed of.

This is not only an animal welfare issue, but also a public safety issue. Even when captive-born and hand-raised, 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.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act (H.R.1380/S. 2561) addresses these problems by prohibiting the possession of big cat species like tigers and lions by individuals as pets, and by prohibiting animal exhibitors from allowing public contact with them. Your voice is needed to encourage passage of this bill.

Sign the petition and urge your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act (H.R.1380/S. 2561).