Invoking 'Tiger King,' House passes bill banning big cat ownership - CNN

Ed Case of Hawaii, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said Thursday the bill would stop animal abuse and "bad actors like those we saw on 'Tiger King.'"

Though its companion bill in the Senate has some Republican cosponsors, its future is less certain in the upper chamber after GOP leadership slammed House Democrats for voting on this bill and another decriminalizing marijuana, instead of focusing on coronavirus relief legislation.

Quigley, however, argued that "too often, law enforcement and first responders are the ones who end up in danger from these animals and, in a time when our first responders are already facing increased risk from the pandemic, we owe it to them to limit the additional dangers they face on the job."

The Senate companion bill did not make it out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, which held its last markup of the session on Wednesday.

On the House floor Thursday, Utah Republican Rob Bishop also argued that the bill "is not about protecting the public from big cats," but about "hurting small family-run zoos across the country."

Republican Rep.

Brian Fitzpatrick, a co-sponsor of the bill, denied that the measure unfairly targets small zoos, and Quigley said American taxpayers shoulder the cost of feeding and caring for big cats after they're rescued or abandoned.

The "Big Cat Public Safety Act" has been endorsed by animal welfare groups like the Humane Society of the United States, but also has the support of some law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police.

"Passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act by the U.S.

House will help end the public safety hazards associated with private ownership, prohibit public contact based on snatching infant cubs from their mothers for 'pay to play' and selfie-taking operations, and cripple the shady networks that put these endangered animals at risk of being killed for the wildlife products trade.