BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

US House passes bill that would prohibit public contact with big cats, like tigers

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

ovp test

mLife Diagnostics LLC: Oral Fluid Drug Testing

Male shot by female at Shreveport apartment

Class to create biodiverse backyard

Rules for outbursts at Caddo School Board Meeting

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

WASHINGTON (WBTW) — The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday that would prohibit public contact with big cats, such as tigers, according to the House Press Gallery.

The bill passed by a vote of 272-114. The bill gained momentum after the very popular Netflix series, “Tiger King,” which featured “Doc” Antle’s Myrtle Beach Safari.

The Big Cat Public Safety Act “revises requirements governing the trade of big cats (i.e., species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species). Specifically, it revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats.”

An owner of a big cat sanctuary in Florida told NewsNation affiliate WMBB the bill would allow professionals employed at a sanctuary within 15 feet of big cats, but not volunteers, which could hurt sanctuaries.

Antle appeared in a Virginia court in early November on wildlife trafficking charges. Virginia officials say Antle and Keith Wilson, owner of Wilson’s Wild Animal Park in Virginia, trafficked lion cubs between Virginia and Myrtle Beach Safari.

Antle told News13 in December he took in three lion cubs from Wilson’s Wild Animal Park in Virginia, which couldn’t care for the animals. That park shut down after about 120 animals were seized from it in August of 2019.

In 2019, New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. posted a video that shows him and others throwing footballs to chimpanzees and petting young tigers at Myrtle Beach Safari.

The bill now moves on to the Senate.

Politics

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Clear

la

48°F Clear Feels like 48°
Wind
1 mph NNW
Humidity
52%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
47°F Clear to partly cloudy. Low 47F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
2 mph N
Precip
6%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous