Biden signs bill banning private ownership of big cats 

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a bill that seeks to prevent private individuals from owning, breeding, and transporting big cats to avoid the exploitation of these animals.

Additionally, the Big Cat Public Safety Act bans licensed exhibitors, such as zoos, sanctuaries, and universities, from allowing the public to pet or hold big cat cubs. The animals covered in the bill include lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars, and hybrids of these large felines.  

The bill prohibits the public from directly coming into contact with large felines, such as is depicted in the hit TV show Tiger King. 

The 2020 show depicts the industry of roadside zoo attractions that own big cats and other animals by following a now-closed facility in Oklahoma operated by Joseph Maldonado-Passage, known as Joe Exotic, who is now serving a 21-year prison sentence. 

At the zoo, G.W. Exotic Animal Park, customers could pay to cuddle with baby tiger cubs and take photos with them. However, the docu-series also depicts the treatment that the animals were subjected to in the zoo. 

According to Illinois Representative Mike Quigley, the seven-part series highlights the “miserable conditions thousands of tigers, lions, leopards, and pumas are kept in by irresponsible owners.”

The Big Cat Public Safety Act was introduced by Quigley in January 2021, after the show's release. It passed this year in the House of Representatives with a 278-134 vote and unanimously in the Senate earlier this month. 

Under the new law, individuals who own big cats have 180 days to register their animals with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. People who fail to do so can face a fine of up to $20,000 or five years in prison.