[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 103 (Thursday, July 25, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            INTRODUCTION OF THE CAPTIVE WILDLIFE SAFETY ACT

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                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 25, 2002

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
introduce legislation that represents a firm commitment to protect the 
safety of the American public and to protect the welfare of wild 
animals that are increasingly being maintained as pets. This 
legislation identifies and provides a solution to a growing national 
problem that must be addressed.
  The bill, the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, would amend the Lacey Act 
and bar the interstate and foreign commerce of dangerous exotics, 
including lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, cougars, and bears, for 
use as pets. The legislation would not ban all private ownership of 
these prohibited species; rather, it would outlaw the commerce of these 
animals for use as pets.
  The legislation specifically exempts zoos, circuses, and others that 
are currently regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the 
provisions of the Animal Welfare Act. Instead, the bill is specifically 
aimed at the unregulated and untrained individuals who are maintaining 
these wild animals as exotic pets.
  According to best estimates, there are more than 5,000 tigers in 
captivity in the United States. There are perhaps more tigers in 
captivity than there are tigers in their native habitats throughout the 
range in Asia. While some tigers are held in zoological institutions, 
most of the animals are pets, kept in cages behind someone's home in a 
state that does not restrict private ownership of dangerous animals. 
And it's not just tigers: there is widespread private ownership of 
other dangerous animals, including lions, cougars, and bears. At a time 
when almost anything can be bought on the Internet, it is unsurprising 
that the animals can all be purchased through the more than 1,000 web 
sites that promote private ownership of wild animals.
  Problems arise because most owners are ignorant of a wild animal's 
needs, and local veterinarians, sanctuaries, animal shelters, and local 
governments are ill equipped to meet the challenge of providing proper 
care. Wild animals, especially such large and uniquely powerful animals 
as lions and tigers, should be kept in captivity by professional 
zoological facilities. Only curators of these facilities have the 
knowledge and know-how to meet the animals behavioral, physical, and 
nutritional needs.
  People living near these animals are also in real danger. There is a 
laundry list of incidents of dangerous exotics seriously injuring and 
killing people. In Loxahatchee, Florida, in February, a 58-year-old 
woman was bitten in the head by a 750-pound pet Siberian-Bengal tiger 
mix. In Lexington, Texas, in October last year, a three-year-old boy 
was killed by his stepfather's pet tiger. Earlier that year in August, 
a pet lion bit a woman trying to feed peaches to some captive bears.
  The Captive Wildlife Safety Act represents an emerging consensus on 
the need for comprehensive federal legislation to regulate what animals 
can be kept as pets.
  A wide range of groups and institutions, for example, oppose the 
private ownership of carnivores. The U.S. Department of Agriculture 
states, ``Large wild and exotic cats such as lions, tigers, cougars and 
leopards are dangerous animals.*** Because of these animals' potential 
to kill or severely injure both people and other animals, an untrained 
person should not keep them as pets. Doing so poses serious risks to 
family, friends, neighbors, and the general public. Even an animal that 
can be friendly and love can be very dangerous.''
  The American Veterinary Medical Association also ``strongly opposes 
the keeping of wild carnivore species of animals as pets and believes 
that all commercial traffic of these animals for such purpose should be 
prohibited.''
  This bill is just one part of the solution to help protect people and 
exotic animals. States will continue to play a major role. I hope to 
see the grassroots effort directed at the state and local government 
level, to increase the number of states and counties that ban private 
ownership of dangerous exotic animals. Already, 12 states ban private 
possession of large exotic animals, while 7 states have partial bans.
  The Captive Wildlife Safety Act is supported by the Association of 
Zoos and Aquariums, The Humane Society of the United States, The Fund 
for Animals, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare. I also want 
to thank the actress Tippi Hedron for raising awareness of this issue 
on Capitol Hill. Tippi operates an animal sanctuary, and often has the 
sad and expensive task of rescuing these animals after their owners 
realize the lion or tiger is a safety risk and cannot be properly cared 
for.
  I ask my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation, and I hope that 
the Resources Committee, on which I serve, will take up the legislation 
in an expeditious manner.

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