Big Cat Public Safety Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. QUIGLEY. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1380, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and I am grateful for the bipartisan support it has received. I also want to thank my staffer, Max, who worked so hard on this measure.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, and numerous other State and local law enforcement agencies because 500-pound carnivores pose a serious and very real threat to first responders, law enforcement officers, and entire communities around the country. The photo behind me is not staged.

This bill is also endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States and countless other animal welfare organizations because lions and tigers do not belong in urban apartments or in cages in suburban backyards and because private citizens simply do not have the resources to care for dangerous animals that are meant to roam over hundreds of square miles.

As was stated, this bill is supported by the AGA and is not opposed by the Zoological Association of America, the trade association for small roadside-type zoos, because ripping newborn cubs from their mothers moments after their birth to use them as props in photos is already cruel enough, but once they are too big to be safely held, brutally killing them is just wrong.

Nearly 65,000 Americans have signed a Change.org petition calling for the immediate passage of this bill because the Netflix series ``Tiger King'' showed the world in stark relief how exploitive, dangerous, and inhumane this tiny so-called industry is.

This bill should be served by every American because right now taxpayers shoulder the cost of monitoring and regulating private owners, and when big cats are rescued from horrific conditions or simply abandoned by overwhelmed owners, they pay for the care and feeding of these cats.

Madam Speaker, I thank the many Republican Members of Congress who support this bill, which is cosponsored by more than half the House.

I urge every Member to stand with the law enforcement community and stand up for those that need our help but cannot ask for that. Please vote for this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source