Thread by @natashaldaly

Today, the House is scheduled to vote on the Big Cat Public Safety Act. The bill seeks to federally ban private ownership of AND public contact with big cats—essentially ending the U.S. cub petting industry.

I’ve been covering this industry for @natgeo for a while now. THREAD!

PROCEDURE: IF the bill passes the House, it'll go to the Senate, but it's unclear if it will be brought to the floor for a vote in this Congress. It’s v. late in the term. If NOT, it'll have to be re-introduced next Congress. Still, passing the House now would indicate momentum.

SIGNIFICANCE OF ACT:
-Currently, big cat ownership is left to the states & there’s a patchwork of regs. 4 states have no regs, others require permits, others ban ownership.
-The demand for cub petting is main impetus behind rampant breeding of big cats & their commercial trade.

...Banning cub petting means cutting off the roadside zoo industry’s biggest moneymaker. Cub petting relies on a constant supply of cubs. At 12 weeks-ish, they age out—Too big & unsafe to handle. To offer cub petting, a business always needs new babies. This means speed-breeding.

What happens to the babies once they hit 12 weeks is unclear. Some go on exhibit. Others become breeders themselves. There's evidence some are killed. Read this @natgeo deep dive into the tiger industry for more:
nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/1…

And then there are the issues with the treatment of animals at these roadside zoo facilities, such as those featured on Tiger King. My story on USDA documentation of animal suffering at Jeff Lowe's zoo this summer: nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/1…

Doc Antle, another huge industry player, was indicted on wildlife trafficking and animal cruelty charges in October. My story on that: nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/1…

The Big Cat Public Safety Act is supported by many animal protection organizations, and the AZA (@zoos_aquariums), which accredits zoos around the U.S. that meet certain welfare standards.

It's opposed by many in the private zoo and animal entertainment industry.

Something really important to note is that the Act won't ban EXISTING ownership of big cats. People who currently own big cats can keep them. They just can't breed more without a license. MORE ABOUT BREEDING:

AZA-accredited breeding programs are controlled: Lions & tigers are bred along pure genetic lines, for the explicit stated purpose of conservation. Not for commerce. Roadside zoos breed for business & the animals are are often so cross-bred that they have ZERO conservation value.

Ligers, Tigons, ti-ligons, li-tigons, etc are v. common at roadside zoos. These hybrids have no wild counterparts, no place in the ecosystem, and therefore no conservation value. Also, hybrid breeding risks unhealthy, genetically compromised animals. MORE: nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/02/w…

MORE ON THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF CUBS:
Based on my reporting, I've learned that your standard orange tiger cub can sell for about $2k; white tigers: $4-5k; lions: $4k-5k; hybrids: $7-8k; white lion cubs: $15k. Cub petting is big business.

Tiger King drove demand anew for cub petting. In April, I reporting on cub petting at Jeff Lowe's zoo (formerly owned by Joe Exotic). Visitors paid $60 each for 6 minutes with infant cubs. There were HOURS-long waits. You can see how the $$$ racks up. nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/0…

In June, USDA inspectors found dead tigers buried under rubble at Lowe's zoo & more, incl a young lion named Nala, found unresponsive. Nala now lives at the @animalsanctuary in CO. She arrived in Oct. with fractures in her legs. See Nala today!:

https://twitter.com/animalsanctuary/status/1332791239159263232?s=20

Restricting public contact with big cats not only protects cats by reducing breeding, it protects people too. Last month, a man was mauled by a caged leopard at a private facility in Florida after he entered its cage for selfies. My story on that: nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/1…

Just today, it was reported that a volunteer at @BigCatRescue sanctuary was attacked by a tiger during feeding, when the caretaker made a split-second mistake. Big cats are dangerous, straight up!! Accidents can always happen: cnn.com/2020/12/03/ent…

The Big Cat Public Safety Act would mandate that all big cats at licensed facilities must be behind a barrier, 15 feet away from the public at all times. Adults, cubs, doesn't matter.

The bill won't be voted on until at least 5:30, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's pushed to tomorrow because there are a lot of votes scheduled to happen on the floor today. We'll see! But you can read the entire bill here: docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/…

If you have Qs, let me know! But here's the jist:
The Big Cat Public Safety Act would BAN:
-NEW ownership of big cats w/out a license (no more new big cats as pets. Ppl can keep their current pets tho)
-PUBLIC CONTACT with all big cats*
(*there are limited exceptions in the bill)

FYI: The House has 23 bills on the floor up for potential voting today. The Big Cat Safety Act is last on the list—23rd. Right now, lawmakers are discussing # 3 on the list. Voting set to start at 5:30ish, so we'll see if they get to it. I'm watching so will keep you all posted😅

UPDATE: The Big Cat Public Safety Act will be voted on shortly. Co-sponsors Quigley (D-IL), Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Case (D-HI), and Blumenauer (D-OR) just spoke in favor. Rep. Bishop (R-UT) spoke in opposition.

The bill has 230 cosponsors. It'll go to a vote in about 25 minutes.

UPDATE: I just spoke with the House Press Gallery. Because of COVID, the voting process is taking longer. The Big Cat Public Safety Act is third in line for a vote tonight. May not happen until around 10 pm or so. I'll keep you all updated so stay tuned.

While we're waiting for the vote, I want to note that it'll be interesting to see how the votes fall along party lines. Support for animal welfare initiatives in the House has become increasingly bipartisan. Membership of the House Animal Protection Caucus reflects that.

The vote has begun! Already, the Yes votes are indeed bipartisan: Right this second: 59 Republicans have voted no, and 22 have vote yes. Dems all yes so far.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act currently stands at 272 Yes votes-114 No votes.

About a 1/3 of Republicans who have voted so far have voted yes. 100% of Dems.

45 votes remain.

BREAKING: The House just voted to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

If passed by the Senate and signed into law, it would ban a) private ownership of and b) public contact with big cats—essentially ending the U.S. cub petting industry.

Now it is up to the Senate.

It’s up to Mitch McConnell to decide if he wants to take up the bill. The odds are against it: McConnell has other priorities and there’s very little time left in the term. It would need unanimous support to stand a chance of making it through the Senate at this stage.

IF it doesn’t go to a vote, it’ll have to be reintroduced in both the House and Senate next Congress. Nonetheless, today’s House result is a marker that the House sees this as priority legislation, which would help tee the bill up for momentum in the next Congress.

TL;DR: Bill passed the House. It's is now in the hands of the Senate. May or may not go to a vote before the end of the current Congress.

Thanks so much for following along with me today as I covered this significant milestone towards increased big cat protection in the U.S. 👋