Not everyone keeps a pet tiger or mountain lion as a house pet. But an animal refuge in the Ozarks says there are some people who do—and that's why it’s asking members of Congress to protect these big cats.
The Big Cat Public Safety Act would ban any lay person from breeding or possessing prohibited wildlife species, which include tigers, lions, cougars, and other big cats.
Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a big cat sanctuary in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, is pushing for this federal bill to pass.
Lisa Brinker heads up the online advocacy program there.
“We promote it because we don’t want to have to take in cats. We want them to have happy lives where they belong.”
Brinker says that most states don’t have laws regarding ownership of big cats. However, if this bill were to become law, stricter measures would be enforced nationwide.
Many opponents of the bill are big cat owners and breeders.