President Biden Bans Ownership of Big Cats in the United States

The US’ President Biden signed legislation earlier this week banning the private ownership of several species of big cats, including lions and tigers, reports the New York Post. The ban follows a years-long campaign by Carole Baskin, infamous antagonist of the Netflix hit series, Tiger King.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act was signed after the bill passed the Senate without any “no” votes on December 7, after clearing the House by 278-134 in July.

Under the new legislation, anyone who currently owns a big cat must register their animal, while no new animals may be acquired.

Significantly, the law also bans direct public contact with six species, namely lions, leopards, snow leopards, tigers, cougars and jaguars, but provides exemption for licensed zoos and sanctuaries including Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue facility in Tampa, Florida.

Baskin, 61, achieved fame in 2020 when she featured in the Netflix series, which followed her rivalry with self-declared “Tiger King”, Joe Exotic. Exotic is a long-running Oklahoma political candidate, country musician and private zoo owner who referred to himself as a “gay, gun-carrying redneck with a mullet.”

In a celebratory video following the ban, Baskin said, “The passage of the bill is the successful culmination of many years of battling against narcissistic, abusive, dangerous men who dominated the cruel trade and did everything they could to stop its passage, including wanting to intimidate, discredit and even kill me.”

According to Baskin’s organization, only five states — Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Oregon and Washington — had banned private ownership of big cats as of last year. Most allowed licenses for private ownership or for commercial exhibitors, and four — Alabama, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin — had no restrictions.

Animal Survival International executive director, David Barritt, commended President Biden on the decision and said big cats had suffered for too long.

“It is incomprehensible that people can find joy in the suffering of animals behind bars. Many caged cats are stolen from their mothers as cubs and sentenced to lonely, frustrating lives behind bars for the titillation of the public, or kept as entirely unsuitable pets until disaster strikes or they are discarded. The animals always lose. There is no good reason to own a wild animal and we urge every country in the world to put in place similar bans.”

Read more about our fight against the illegal pet trade here.