Calls to Action

You can help big cats in captivity through your actions and advocacy.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act

The Big Cat Public Safety Act would prohibit the private ownership of big cats. It would also restrict direct contact between the public and big cats, ending cruel cub petting attractions. Few states have an outright ban on the private possession of big cats (see graphic), and some states have no state regulations at all, making a federal solution necessary. The Big Cat Public Safety Act would better protect captive big cats and help safeguard the public, who are put at risk by the unregulated ownership of these animals.

Take action now on IFAW’s website by telling your members of Congress to protect captive big cats.

Most Recent Updates

On June 15, 2022, the Big Cat Public Safety Act was passed by the House Committee on Natural Resources (introduced in the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife) by a vote of 25 Yeas and 17 Nays. The next step in the House is to schedule a review and vote by the full U.S. House of Representatives. There are currently 258 co-sponsors in the House. Please contact your Representative to voice your support for H.R. 263 – The Big Cat Public Safety Act – by thanking those who are already co-sponsors and asking for the support of those who are not. You can find your Representative using the links below. Please be sure to reference the H.R. number in your correspondences. To keep up-to-date on the bill in the House, please visit https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/263/


    (Click on the image above to view the full fact sheet.)

Back in April 2021, the Big Cat Public Safety Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 1210 and referred to the Committee on the Environment and Public Works (EPW). To see if your Senator(s) sit on this important committee that can advance the bill to a vote on the Senate floor, please visit https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/members. There are currently 45 co-sponsors of S.1210 in the Senate. Please encourage your Senators to co-sponsor the bill and thank them if they already are. It is vitally important that the members of the EPW Commitee support the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

BCPSA in the U.S. House of Representatives

The Big Cat Public Safety Act has been reintroduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 263. Please contact your Representative to voice your support for its passage in the House again this year. With its recent introduction into the Senate, now is the time to build support in both branches of Congress. For a list of current co-sponsors of the bill in the House, please visit: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/263/cosponsors.

Find Your Representative

BCPSA in the U.S. Senate

Bill S. 1210 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, who will need to introduce the bill for a vote in the full Senate. To see if your Senator is a committee member, please visit www.epw.senate.gov/public/. We encourage you to identify your Senators now by clicking on the button below and contact them to encourage them to vote yes for the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

Find your senator

Previous Updates

2021 Updates

 

On April 19, 2021, the Big Cat Public Safety Act was introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 1210. The bill was then referred to the Committee on the Environment and Public Works. Current Senate sponsors include: Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT), Senator Susan Collins (ME), Senator Thomas Carper (DE), and Senator Richard Burr (NC). To identify your Senators, please see the link below. You can find a list of Senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee at https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/

The Big Cat Public Safety Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday, January 11, 2021, by Representatives Mike Quigley (IL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA). Please contact your Representative to voice your support for H.R. 263 – The Big Cat Public Safety Act. You can find your Representative using the links below. Please be sure to reference the H.R. number in your correspondences. To keep up-to-date on the bill in the House, please visit https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/263/

2020 Updates

The Big Cat Public Safety Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020 (116th Congress). However, it was not brought to the Senate for a vote in 2020. Therefore, it will need to be voted on again in the House and brought to the Senate for a vote in 2021 (117th Congress). BCSA will continue to post updates on the status of this Act on our social media, and we will also provide updated Calls to Action regarding the Big Cat Public Safety Act and other relevant big cat legislation on this page regularly.

U.S. House of Representatives (116th Congress): On December 3, 2020, the Big Cat Public Safety Act (HR1380)  passed the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the Bill will have to be reintroduced into the House in 2021. Please see the December 3rd voting record at https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2020232. If your Representative voted yes, please thank them for their vote and encourage them to vote yes again in 2021. For those Representatives who did not vote or voted no in 2020, please contact them and let them know that you support the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

U.S. Senate (116th Congress): The Big Cat Public Safety Act was not brought for a vote in the Senate in 2020. To view the co-sponsors of Bill S.2561 in the Senate, visit https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/2561/cosponsors.