Big Cat Public Safety Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I indeed rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 263, the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

In the 116th Congress, we passed this legislation overwhelmingly with a vote of 272-114. So, apparently, there are a significant number of Republicans, at least a quarter of the caucus, that think this is a good idea.

Sadly, the Senate didn't take the bill up then, but since that vote, we have been able to work with our colleagues in the House and Senate to ensure we don't forget this important legislation because law enforcement and our communities deserve better.

Today, I am grateful that this body has had an opportunity to vote on this bill once again, and I am grateful to Mr. Grijalva and the House Natural Resources Committee for their continued support and their efforts to protect our neighborhoods from the threat of wild animals being held captive in dangerous conditions.

This legislation is about public safety and the safety of our first responders. Indeed, it is inherently inhumane and dangerous to keep big cats in private residences.

In 2011, as Mr. Case detailed, more than 50 animals were released from their enclosures into the streets of Zanesville, Ohio: 18 tigers, 3 cougars, and 17 lions. This was just one horrific example of how first responders in our communities are put in danger when big cats are held captive in substandard living conditions by private, unregistered, unprepared owners.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Sheriffs' Association, the Small and Rural Law Enforcement Executives Association, and numerous State and local law enforcement agencies because 500-pound carnivores pose a serious and very real threat.

There have been over 740 serious safety incidents, including hundreds of maulings and 25 human deaths in the U.S. since 1990.

Lions and tigers do not belong in urban apartments or in cages in suburban backyards. Private citizens simply do not have the resources to care for dangerous animals that were meant to roam hundreds of square miles.

This bill is supported by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which represents over 235 accredited zoos and aquariums across the country and abroad, as well as the Humane Society of the United States, and countless other animal welfare organizations because big cats are wild animals that inherently suffer when they are kept as pets in these substandard living conditions.

This bill should be supported 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.

Mr. Speaker, I thank all 258 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle who support this bill, especially my friend, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, who has been a leader on this issue for many years. I urge every Member to stand with law enforcement.

Mr. Speaker, I want to add to what my colleague, Mr. Case, said about the challenges this country faces. If we were to argue that we should only focus on the top one or two issues in our minds at that time, the hundreds of other issues that this country and our world face would be set aside. Indeed, in this case, we would tell law enforcement: Yes, we know these animals put you at risk, but we want to work on these other priorities.

We can and must be able to do many things and meet all the challenges this country faces. We have that ability, and we are showing it right now. We passed landmark infrastructure legislation, gun safety legislation, and, today, CHIPS. God willing, very soon we will be dealing with infrastructure and the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices.

It is a complicated world, but we can't say in response: Well, we are only going to deal with the top one or two.

We can do better, and we must.

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