Okay, I just had to post one article regarding the push to limit wild animal ownership in the US. As a side note: BCR will not go "out of business" if this bill is passed -- in fact, it may "increase" their business. After all , there will be folks willing to risk owning the animals without the government's blessing, forcing many animal cases to go before the courts.
http://www2.tbo.com/news/community-news/2012/may/16/nwopeno1-big-cat-rescue-backs-law-that-could-one-d-ar-402774/
Published: May 16, 2012
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Big Cat Rescue backs law that could one day put it out of business
By Eddie Daniels
Carole
Baskin spends much of her life with big felines —
tigers, lions, leopards and such.
As founder of Big Cat Rescue, a nonprofit educational sanctuary in Citrus
Park, she takes pride in the way the sanctuary is operated — with attention to
the animals' well-being and the public's safety.
Not everyone is so scrupulous.
Baskin said she wasn't shocked in October when a man in Zanesville, Ohio,
intentionally released 56 big cats from a private piece of property. Of the 56
animals turned loose in the southwestern Ohio community, 49 were killed to
protect the public — including 18 Bengal tigers and 17 lions.
The man who released them killed himself.
"It is just the tip of the iceberg," Baskin said. "People look at this and
go, 'Oh, this was horrible.'
"We know so many places that are exactly like that and are just a ticking
time bomb waiting to go off."
Susan Bass, the Citrus Park sanctuary's spokeswoman, agrees.
"It could literally happen anytime, anywhere, locally, in the state or around
the country, really," Bass said.
That realization, in addition to a desire to protect the well-being of big
cats, is what has driven the staff at Big Cat Rescue to join the likes of the
Humane Society of the United States, the International Fund for Animal Welfare,
Born Free USA, the World Wildlife Fund and The Ian Somerhalder Foundation in
backing a bill pending before the U.S. House of Representatives dubbed the Big
Cats and Public Safety Protection Act.
The bill, introduced Feb. 29 by Reps. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., and Loretta
Sanchez, D-Calif., attempts to curb, if not completely eliminate, the private
possession and breeding of big cats.
It aims to ensure that lions, tigers and other dangerous big felines do not
threaten public safety while being kept as pets or used as attractions and in
traveling exhibits.
The bill also looks to add a layer of regulation that varies from state to
state. Eight states currently don't have laws governing ownership of big cats,
according to Born Free USA's website.
* * * * *
The effort to pass the bill has added much to the plate of
Big Cat Rescue, which opened in 1992 and is on 55 acres. Big Cat Rescue, the
world's largest accredited sanctuary dedicated to abused and abandoned cats, has
more than 100 large felines of various species.
"The amount of work it took to get a really good bill drafted and agreed to
by enough people … yes, it creates a lot of work, and that creates a certain
pressure, because we are very thinly staffed and work most nights and weekends,
and this adds to that," said Howard Baskin, the rescue park's advisory board
chairman and husband of Carole. "But it's the most exciting thing we're working
on.
"And we feel confident it will pass. It's just, how quickly can we accelerate
the process? By putting as much energy as we can into it."
In September, Big Cat Rescue accepted three tigers — Andre, Amanda and Arthur
— from Wild Animal Orphanage just outside San Antonio, Texas. They were among 24
tigers the Texas orphanage took in from a New Jersey property that had closed.
The Baskins said they heard the animals were kept in too-tight quarters in New
Jersey.
The couple said the congressional bill, if passed into law, would eliminate
the need for such rescue efforts
.
"Our goal is basically to put ourselves out of business," Howard Baskin said.
"We would like for there to be no need for any cats to come to us having lived
in horrible conditions."
Fourteen representatives are on board as co-sponsors of the House bill,
including Kathy Castor, D-Tampa. John Kerry, D-Mass., has agreed to work on a
companion bill in the U.S. Senate.
Organizations backing the act are encouraging people to write and call their
representatives.
There also is a social media effort. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an
animal-rights advocate, has expressed support for the bill to his 2 million-plus
followers on Twitter.
Ultimately, the Zanesville, Ohio, tragedy might be advocates' strongest
evidence of the need for such a law.
"The impact of the Ohio incident — as horrible as it was, and you would never
wish it to happen — has raised public awareness," Howard Baskin said. "It has
brought national and international attention to an issue that when we would tell
people about it, they'd go, 'You're kidding,' because people weren't aware. So
one could argue if it helps get this bill passed, you could say those cats
didn't die in vain."
Comments
Mark Hernandez
This is not simply a private ownership issue--this is also a
zoo and sanctuary issue. When speaking of a ticking time bomb, most people are
not aware that zoo and sanctuary animals have escaped their enclosures as well
over the years and these escapes are not normally reported to the media or law
enforcement unless the situation becomes news (i.e. Oakland Zoo tiger escape).
Eventually, when the real story as to why the Wild Animal Orphanage closed its
doors forever is made public, everyone will learn what really transpired at this
Texas sanctuary that was at one time hailed as the largest and most reputable
exotic wild animal sanctuary in the US. If you think there’s a problem with
private ownership, wait until you read what happened at this sanctuary!
1
Noel Snyder what bulls*** is 'all zoos are required to separate animal species or "they will fight to the death"' What a joke. Guessing he is a private 'zoo' gut? ps is that the guy at the hearings that looked so strange, Lori?