First introduced in 2012, the Big Cat Public Safety Act would prohibit private individuals from possessing lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars, or any hybrid of these species. This prohibition would only apply to big cats kept as pets—sanctuaries, universities, and zoos would be exempt. Current big cat owners would be grandfathered in but would be required to register their animals in order to alert first responders and animal control officers that these dangerous cats are being held in their communities. Additionally, the bill would prohibit public petting, playing with, feeding, and photo ops with cubs. The profit derived from encouraging the public to handle and pose with cubs is the primary driver of a relentless breeding cycle that floods the exotic pet trade with surplus tigers who have outgrown the cub stage. Facilities that offer cub petting opportunities have also been known to kill adolescent tigers once they are too big to handle and can no longer generate profits.
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