Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that amends requirements governing the trade, possession, and exhibition of big cats, including restrictions on direct contact between the public and big cats.

Highlights:

• Prohibits the importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, or purchasing, breeding, and possessing of any prohibited wildlife (Sec. 3).

• Specifies that any person who knowingly violates the above prohibition will be fined up to $20,000, imprisoned for up to 5 years, or both (Sec. 4).

• Specifies that the above prohibition does not include (Sec. 3):

• An entity that exhibits animals to the public under a Class C license from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or a federal facility registered with the USDA that exhibits animals and it:

• Does not allow any individual to come into direct physical contact with a prohibited wildlife species unless that individual is: 

• A trained professional employee or contractor of the entity or facility; 

• A licensed veterinarian; or

• Directly supporting conservation programs of the entity or facility, the contact is not in the course of commercial activity, and the contact is incidental to humane husbandry conducted for a specifies-specific, publicly available, peer-edited population management and care plan that has been provided to the USDA Secretary; 

• Ensures that during a public exhibition of a lion, tiger, leopard, snow leopard, jaguar, cougar, or any hybrid, the animal is at least 15 feet from members of the public unless there is a permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact;

• A state college, university, agency,  or a state-licensed veterinarian; 

• A wildlife sanctuary that cares for prohibited wildlife specifies and:

• Does not commercially trade in any prohibited wildlife, including their offspring, parts, or byproducts of such animals; 

• Does not breed any prohibited wildlife specifies; 

• Does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife specifies; and

• Does not allow for the transportation and display of prohibited wildlife species off-site; 

• Has custody of any prohibited wildlife species solely for the purpose of expeditiously transporting the wildlife species to a person described with respect to the species; or

• An entity or individual that is in possession of any prohibited wildlife species that was born before this bill’s date of enactment.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text