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I'm Hannah Shaw and I am here at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida,
raising awareness about the importance of the big cat Public Safety Act.
The Big Cat Public Safety Act would ban the exploitation of big cats
in circuses, roadside zoos, and cub petting.
WOMAN: There are more privately owned cats
because people want them as their own for popularity
or just because it's cool to say "I have a big cat!"
than there are in the wild to see them out there free,
running around, doing what they were created to do...
HANNAH: Where they belong.
W: Where they belong!
H: When you can modify an animal,
you only care about keeping them alive
insofar as they're able to breed or provide whatever "service" they're providing to you,
so the breeding lifespan of a tiger is not the duration of their entire life.
So what happens to those older mom cats?
What happens to the cubs once they are no longer at an age
where they can be held and exploited in that way?
You know, we see the snapshot in time of the cute cub,
but we're not necessarily thinking about what happens next!
When I see people who are doing the cub petting,
I think it comes from a place of genuinely being interested in these animals,
thinking they're really cool,
And there's just a better way of caring about these animals than ripping them away from their moms,
depriving them of the nutrients that they deserve,
depriving them of the life that they deserve,
and setting them up for as soon as they get too big...
potentially being killed, being abandoned...
not having a safe environment.
W: It's just like taking your child that was just born and being like,
"Here's my kid! Have fun!" You know?
W: Pass it around. H: And I think about...
H: I mean, the only reason this exists because it makes somebody money.
So somebody is financially gaining from the exploitation of these cats.
The Big Cat Public Safety Act would make it so that it is not possible
for people to make that financial gain off of exploiting these baby animals,
which I think is SO important.
So if you care about kittens, if you care about wild animals,
if you care about big cats and cubs, you have to make the call.
H: When people get a big cat as a pet, usually they get them... (reacting to someone offscreen) yeah, right?
W: As babies.
H: They get them young and they think this is a good idea
because maybe it seems manageable when they're this big.
But then they grow into this several hundred pound lion or tiger...
That's not a manageable lifestyle for anybody.
W: This damage has been done with claws, teeth...
W: when people have these guys as pets,
this is the damage that they do to something that they love, that they're playing with,
and it's not even on purpose.
H: when I think about someone trying to make a pet out of a wild...
H: 500-pound tiger... W: Yeah.
H: It's insane!
W: They are meant to take down big prey.
Even just if they're playing with you, cats like to bat things around.
If a tiger were to bat you with that force,
it could just potentially kill you and it might not even be on purpose.
H: Think about all the things in your house that you care about
and coming home and this is what has been done.
H: Your couch... W: Everything.
BOTH: Your bed. W: Your wall.
W: We've got dry walls getting torn up—like your fan..
H: Your face.
H: Also, if you have to abuse someone in order to have them in your life...
you probably shouldn't have them in your life.
W: No.
H: Because we all know kittens never grow up into cats and cubs never grow into lions. (laughter)
H: So...
brilliant plan, everyone.
Ethics aside, how DANGEROUS that is.
This isn't going to change without legal changes and people don't understand why this is important.
They don't understand...
What's the big deal about having these cats in your yard(?)
It's impossible to give these cats the life that they deserve in private hands, it is impossible.
And certainly in places like a circus or these roadside attractions, it's impossible.
W: They were ripped away from their mom. They're not given proper treatment, not given the proper diet.
A lot of people don't understand that.
They're like, "Oh, that's a cute little cub! Let me play with that."
If you want to help, you can call your representatives
and let them know that you like them to co-sponsor the Big Cat Public Safety Act.
I'm gonna make my calls right now.
ANSWERING MACHINE: Hi, this is Kamala Harris. Thank you for calling my Senate office in Washington. (beep)
Hi Senator Harris, my name is Hannah Shaw.
I'm calling to ask you to co-sponsor the Big Cat Public Safety Act.
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