We need a nationwide law to stop big cats kept in private hands from endangering communities.
There are at least 10,000 big cats in private ownership. The animals are often kept in squalid conditions and dangerously close to residential areas. Meanwhile, since 1997, captive big cats in the U.S. have killed 22 people (including five children) and nearly 200 additional people have been mauled or injured.
IFAW is working with U.S. Reps. Howard 'Buck' McKeon (R-CA) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) to pass the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act.
Please urge your U.S. Representative to co-sponsor the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act today.
Dear [Your Representative],
As your constituent and a member advocate of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), I am writing today to urge your co-sponsorship of the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act (HR 1998), introduced by Reps. Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA).
Spearheaded by IFAW, the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act will finally prohibit people from keeping big cats as pets and breeding them for commercial exploitation, while requiring current owners to register their big cats. The bill exempts zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, wildlife sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitators, and traveling circuses in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.
As someone who values public safety and opposes animal exploitation, I am concerned that there are at least 10,000 big cats kept in the United States as pets in backyards or in roadside zoos, and that no one, not even the USDA, knows exactly where they are and under what conditions they are living. Meanwhile, since 1997, captive big cats in the U.S. have killed 22 people (including five children) and nearly 200 additional people have been mauled or injured.
[Your comments here]
Please co-sponsor HR 1998 today.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
