re: Big cats can no longer be kept as pets.

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So no more Mike the Tiger?

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Pretty sure LSU and Mike’s habitat is considered a licensed and accredited tiger sanctuary or something of the sort. A far cry from the examples of places with big cats this bill made illegal.

My next cat is going to be a Bengal. I had one for 18 years before having to put him to sleep once she fell I’ll. Now I have a spoiled rotten dumpster cat that I found while out running one night. He’s cool though.

I’d definitely get a bobcat if I knew how. That would be amazing.

This is straight from the bill....look at the last line quoted...

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(2) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) does not apply to—

“(A) an entity exhibiting animals to the public under a Class C license from the Department of Agriculture, or a Federal facility registered with the Department of Agriculture that exhibits animals, if such entity or facility holds such license or registration in good standing and if the entity or facility—

“(i) does not allow any individual to come into direct physical contact with a prohibited wildlife species, unless that individual is—

“(I) a trained professional employee or contractor of the entity or facility (or an accompanying employee receiving professional training);

“(II) a licensed veterinarian (or a veterinary student accompanying such a veterinarian); or

“(III) directly supporting conservation programs of the entity or facility, the contact is not in the course of commercial activity (which may be evidenced by advertisement or promotion of such activity or other relevant evidence), and the contact is incidental to humane husbandry conducted pursuant to a species-specific, publicly available, peer-edited population management and care plan that has been provided to the Secretary with justifications that the plan—

“(aa) reflects established conservation science principles;

“(bb) incorporates genetic and demographic analysis of a multi-institution population of animals covered by the plan; and

“(cc) promotes animal welfare by ensuring that the frequency of breeding is appropriate for the species; and

“(ii) ensures that during public exhibition of a lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), or any hybrid thereof, the animal is at least 15 feet from members of the public unless there is a permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact;

“(B) a State college, university, or agency, or a State-licensed veterinarian;

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What about those weird looking cats that’s like a mix between a house cat and like a leopard or cheetah? I always see them on social media.

Here are two of these exotic cats. They don’t look big but I’ve seen some that are pretty big.

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Might be bad news for Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete.

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I believe their tiger died in 2017 and was replaced with a camel.

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IIRC, if it weren't for private ownership the species would be even more endangered.

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This. Are some owners pieces of shite? Sure. But some cat and dog owners are pieces of shite too, should we ban those as pets as well?

There are more tigers in Texas than in the wild.

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A bit overly dramatic don’t you think? The enclosure for the cat wasn’t the most ostentatious, but it’s not like he was being force fed exhaust.

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I've seen it. it was a poor living environment even by zoo standards of decades past.

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So is Baylor no longer allowed to keep their bears? What about BYU if they wanted to keep a mountain lion in the same enclosure as Mike?

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the amendment states the new ruling does not apply to:

"a State college, university, or agency, or a State-licensed veterinarian;"