Original title: US legislation bans private ownership of big cats
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 21. US President Joseph Biden signed the “Big Cats Public Safety Act” on the 20th, prohibiting private breeding of “big cats” such as tigers, lions, cheetahs, and jaguars.
According to the “Big Cat Public Safety Act”, only zoos, sanctuaries, universities and academic research institutions can keep and breed big cats, and they must be licensed by the federal government. They can exhibit these “big cats” to the public, but direct contact with the public is prohibited, such as petting, feeding cubs and other interactive experiences.
Individuals who already own “big cats” such as tigers are exempt from the new law, but must register with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
This is a file photo of a lion provided by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution National Zoo)
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, there are an estimated 5,000 captive tigers across the United States, many of which are privately kept, lacking oversight and vulnerable to the black market. There are about 3,900 wild tigers in the world.
Brittany Mitchelson, a captive animal welfare advocate from Animal Protection, welcomed the signing of the new law. She told AFP that in future it will be illegal to force lions, tigers and other big cats for human entertainment in unnatural environments. “That way, ‘big cats’ will no longer be anesthetized, transported, and used as photo props. ‘Big cat’ breeding will be strictly limited, and exploitative ‘petting cubs’ will be phased out.”
This is a file photo of a tiger provided by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C.Published by Xinhua News Agency (photo courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution National Zoo)
The so-called “caressing cubs” includes customers paying for cuddling, feeding “big cat” cubs and taking photos. PETA says the new law means people like Wild Joe, the protagonist of the documentary “Tiger King,” will no longer be able to profit from it, and “big cat cubs” will no longer be caged together The mother in the house was separated from her flesh and blood.
Netflix of the United States launched “Tiger King” in the spring of 2020, which caused a sensation in the United States. Joe Maldonado-Pasic, whose stage name is “Wild Joe”, has raised hundreds of tigers, lions, lynxes and other animals, opened a private zoo, operated a “caress for cubs” service, and became a TV star. “Wild Joe” was jailed for 22 years in January 2020 for attempted murder with a grudge against colleague Carol Baskin, who often slammed him for “animal cruelty”. (Hu Ruoyu)