Proposed federal regulation of big cat ownership in the U.S.

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
This article on a push to regulate big cat breeding and ownership at the federal level was in the LA Times. It sounds like there is bipartisan support for banning big cat breeding outside of accredited facilities...does anybody know what accreditation the proposed law requires? AZA?

I think that this is a good idea and a long time in coming, although I know that others will have different opinions. Do you think this is a good idea, and why or why not?

Ownership of big cats to be restricted in federal bill - latimes.com
 
@ TropicWorld54: That is one of the riskiest things you can say. Do you think then that the exotic feline breeding compound shouldn't have them then even though they are currently the only ones in the US trying to breed persian leopards? Does that mean that Tangiyaka Wild Aninmal Park shouldn't have their clouded leopards even though their are the only zoo outside the AZA that breeds them and is the main exhibitor? Also what about one of my home zoo's the Deyoung Family Zoo where they have rescued a lot of their big cats and have their lions in a half acre exhibit which is same size or bigger than most AZA exhibits. The AZA isn't the only good zoos in america, it's just the zoos that are able to pay the ridiculous fee every year to be part and fit into their little box definitiion of a good zoo. An example of this would be Zoo Montana. They lost their Grizzly Bears just because the lost AZA accredidation even though they had a 2 acre grizzly Exhibit.
 
JBZvolunteer said:
@ TropicWorld54: That is one of the riskiest things you can say. Do you think then that the exotic feline breeding compound shouldn't have them then even though they are currently the only ones in the US trying to breed persian leopards? Does that mean that Tangiyaka Wild Aninmal Park shouldn't have their clouded leopards even though their are the only zoo outside the AZA that breeds them and is the main exhibitor? Also what about one of my home zoo's the Deyoung Family Zoo where they have rescued a lot of their big cats and have their lions in a half acre exhibit which is same size or bigger than most AZA exhibits. The AZA isn't the only good zoos in america, it's just the zoos that are able to pay the ridiculous fee every year to be part and fit into their little box definitiion of a good zoo. An example of this would be Zoo Montana. They lost their Grizzly Bears just because the lost AZA accredidation even though they had a 2 acre grizzly Exhibit.
Click to expand...

Good points. A non AZA zoo can have big cats as long as they're properly taken care of and aren't a threat to the public.
 
What if the non aza zoos run out of money if aza zoos run out of money the animals will be sent to a sure home with good care. And the exotic feline breeding compound will probally not release the persian leopard and the animals there have terrible exhibits that do not resemble their natural habitat at all.
 
@ tropicworld54: non AZA collaborate together just as much so the animals would have a place to go also. Also Non AZA zoos tend to be more resourceful with their money so it they can actually farewell on a small budget and still thrive.
 
Besides, many non AZA zoos have tigers like Bengals and hybrids, which they give good homes to, while the AZA zoos focus on Amurs, Malayans, and Sumatrans. That way, the AZA zoos can breed their animals, while non AZA zoos take care of other tigers so they won't use up space in AZA zoos.
 
This proposed law is INSANE! I am well aware of it because I am a member of the Feline Conservation Federation, a support group for wild cat breeders. It is an agenda being pushed by animal rights extremists in their attempts to ban animals in captivity. The only reason they exempted the AZA is because they know they cannot win that fight (yet - but believe me they will try). Look how they are trying to get elephants out of America, even within the AZA. The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound is the most consisitent breeder in America and works regularly with SSP's. It is virtually certain that the fishing cat SSP and amur leopard SSP could not have started without them.

Lawmakers were swindled into sponsoring this because of the Ohio release incident. Extremists are using that incident to manufacture a nationwide big cat problem that simply does not exist. If you believe their rhetoric, every neighborhood in America has a pet tiger. Let me ask you this. How many of you have ever personally met someone with a pet tiger? They claim there are three thousand or more in Texas alone, yet the FCF research found only three hundred, mostly in zoos. This legislation must be stopped!!!
 
Last edited:
THANK YOU ARIZONA DOCENT!! In Michigan they tried banning the keeping of large carnivores in Michigan this year and it would've completely destroyed the Deyoung Family Zoo. Which would had a big affect for other ZAA zoos and other responsible private breeders because they have one of the best track records in the US with breeding hyenas and amur tiger breeding in the midwest.
 
Arizona Docent said:
This proposed law is INSANE! I am well aware of it because I am a member of the Feline Conservation Federation, a support group for wild cat breeders. It is an agenda being pushed by animal rights extremists in their attempts to ban animals in captivity. The only reason they exempted the AZA is because they know they cannot win that fight (yet - but believe me they will try). Look how they are trying to get elephants out of America, even within the AZA. The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound is the most consisitent breeder in America and works regularly with SSP's. It is virtually certain that the fishing cat SSP and amur leopard SSP could not have started without them.

Lawmakers were swindled into sponsoring this because of the Ohio release incident. Extremists are using that incident to manufacture a nationwide big cat problem that simply does not exist. If you believe their rhetoric, every neighborhood in America has a pet tiger. Let me ask you this. How many of you have ever personally met someone with a pet tiger? They claim there are three thousand or more in Texas alone, yet the FCF research found only three hundred, mostly in zoos. This legislation must be stopped!!!
Click to expand...

Is the law really insane? It seemed to me like a pretty balanced approach from the media coverage. There are obviously some responsible private citizen cat breeders and some really irresponsible losers like the guy in Ohio among others. If there is a reasonable space created for the responsible guys to continue (e.g., some accreditation process like through your Feline Conservation Foundation group), but the losers are put out of business, how is this not a good thing?
 
JBZvolunteer said:
THANK YOU ARIZONA DOCENT!! In Michigan they tried banning the keeping of large carnivores in Michigan this year and it would've completely destroyed the Deyoung Family Zoo. Which would had a big affect for other ZAA zoos and other responsible private breeders because they have one of the best track records in the US with breeding hyenas and amur tiger breeding in the midwest.
Click to expand...

"ZAA" and "responsible" are not terms that can be used in the same sentence without a fair amount of qualification. One look at the ZAA Membership roster tells that story--while some are certainly above board, but there are a number of really borderline institutions/individuals involved in this group, which might be more accurately called the "anti-AZA."
 
The AZA is not all it is cracked up to be (and this comes from a volunteer at an AZA accredited zoo). And that media article is not balanced. Note how they quote the so-called statistic that there are between ten thousand and twenty thousand big cats living in America? The FCF has proven (through a Freedom Of Information Act research project) that this number is a complete fabrication. But because well funded animal rights groups spout it, the media repeats it without question.

Think about the ramifications if this goes through. For one thing, animal actors will die out and there will be no more real animals used in movies or television. Species that the AZA has phased out but are housed elsewhere will be forced into extinction in captivity. (For example, FCF members maintain a privatized equivalent of an SSP for geoffroys cat, a species the Felid TAG let go several years ago). What about Cat Haven in California, which is breeding jaguars from imported south american stock? What about conservationists like cat expert Jim Sanderson (a personal friend of mine) who are supported by these private zoological facilities but largely ignored by AZA institutions? Not to mention all the people employed by these facilities who will be put out of work.
 
Arizona Docent said:
The AZA is not all it is cracked up to be (and this comes from a volunteer at an AZA accredited zoo). And that media article is not balanced. Note how they quote the so-called statistic that there are between ten thousand and twenty thousand big cats living in America? The FCF has proven (through a Freedom Of Information Act research project) that this number is a complete fabrication. But because well funded animal rights groups spout it, the media repeats it without question.

Think about the ramifications if this goes through. For one thing, animal actors will die out and there will be no more real animals used in movies or television. Species that the AZA has phased out but are housed elsewhere will be forced into extinction in captivity. (For example, FCF members maintain a privatized equivalent of an SSP for geoffroys cat, a species the Felid TAG let go several years ago). What about Cat Haven in California, which is breeding jaguars from imported south american stock? What about conservationists like cat expert Jim Sanderson (a personal friend of mine) who are supported by these private zoological facilities but largely ignored by AZA institutions? Not to mention all the people employed by these facilities who will be put out of work.
Click to expand...

I understand your concerns Arizona Docent, but I would think that Hollywood would make sure that there are animal actor provisions in any breeding regulation. Surely the responsible cat facilities would find a way to become adequately accredited. Jim Sanderson has scientific credibility and ethics so I assume that he would only take money from reputable sources that would do fine in any federally-regulated scenario. Wouldn't you think so?

I am skeptical of the effectiveness of government regulation and it obviously has to be done so that legitimate conservation organizations and "animal actor" facilities aren't caught with the losers. But can't it be done?

I don't know how many big cats there are outside of accredited zoos in the U.S. Perhaps the cited numbers are fictional, but the problem of rogue private operations seems like a very real problem that the FCF or other legitimate organizations aren't able to control.
 
Thanks for the links to the actual bills. I am now more convinced than ever that these are a bad idea. You do not think it will stop animals being used in television and movies? How about the provision (in the full bill on the second link) that explicitely states possessors of these animals CANNOT TAKE THEM OFF SITE! In other words, unless the movie is filmed at the ranch owned by the animal trainers, no go. What about even AZA zoos, which will be allowed to have and breed them, but that also do educational outreaches. Even they would be banned from doing that now.

And look at the briefing posted on the first link. Does anyone really believe this line:

The private ownership of and commerce in prohibited wildlife species has a substantial and detrimental effect on the health and general welfare of the American people

Really? Even the second link (put out by the extremist group Big Cat Rescue) state there have been 20 big cat deaths in the last 21 years. Hello? That is an average of less than one a year! We are going to ban an entire industry to prevent one death per year??? How about the thousands of people killed in car accidents every year - why aren't we outlawing automobiles? Even domestic dogs kill more people - why don't we outlaw pets?

Plus it is already regulated by the USDA. This is nothing more than a blatant attempt to put legitimate zoos (non-AZA of course) out of business.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top