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Big Cat Public Safety Act passes Senate, heads to Biden's desk

The law bans private ownership and public contact with animals like lions, tigers and leopards.

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers have passed a bill that would ban people from keeping big cats, like tigers and lions, as pets. Now, it heads to President Biden's desk for approval.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act was unanimously passed by the Senate on Tuesday; the House passed it back in July.

The bipartisan bill, which was publicly supported by Tampa Bay area-based Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin, would restrict public contact and private ownership of big cats.  

This means ownership of lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, jaguars, cougars or any hybrid of these species would be limited to wildlife sanctuaries, universities and certified zoos. 

The animals that are kept at those facilities would have to be kept at least 15 feet away from members of the public unless there is a "permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact." 

Those who currently own big cats would be allowed to keep them, but trading or breeding would be illegal.

Calls for measures to protect big cats have ramped up in recent years, largely thanks to the hit Netflix Series "Tiger King" – which featured Baskin. 

"We have been working to end cub abuse and phase out private ownership of big cats since 1998," Baskin previously said in a statement to 10 Tampa Bay.  

She explained that, back in 2003, a "watered down" version of the bill was passed but had loopholes for cub petting and private ownership.

"Those loopholes have caused massive suffering and have put the public and first responders in harm's way for no reason other than to line the pockets of those who breed, exploit and discard tiger, lion and liger cubs every three to four months," she added.

The Humane Society released a statement celebrating the end of "an extraordinarily cruel era for big cats in the U.S."  

"We’ve been fighting for this moment for years because so many so-called ‘Tiger Kings’ have been breeding tigers and other big cats to use them for profit. And once the cubs grow too large for cub-petting or selfies, these poor animals get dumped at roadside zoos or passed into the pet trade, which is not only a terrible wrong for the animals, but also a threat to public safety," Kitty Block, president and CEO of the animal's rights organization, said. "Now that the Big Cat Public Safety Act will become law, it’s the beginning of the end of the big cat crisis in the U.S.”

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