House passes ‘Tiger King’ bill to ban private ownership of big cats

The House on Thursday passed a bill that could prevent the emergence of another “Tiger King.”

Joe Exotic, the other nickname for “Tiger King” Joseph Maldonado-Passage for whom the infamous Netflix docuseries is named, is in prison serving a 22-year sentence for wildlife crimes and a murder-for-hire scheme. But some in Congress want to make sure no one else can ever allow the public to interact with big cats like the “Tiger King” did at the former Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma.

The House in a 272-114 vote Thursday passed legislation known as the Big Cat Public Safety Act, which would ban private ownership of big cats such as tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars or cougars. The measure would make it illegal for someone to breed or own big cats without an animal exhibition license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture but would grandfather in current owners if they register with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and abide by federal regulations.

The bill’s actual impact on the “Tiger King” — had he not got into financial and legal trouble that forced him to transfer ownership of his zoo to Jeff Lowe and ultimately led to his imprisonment — would have been minimal. Maldonado-Passage had an exhibitor license so he could have remained in operation but would have had to stop his controversial practice of cub petting, as the bill would ban licensed exhibitors from allowing visitors to interact with big cats. USDA suspended the zoo’s license this summer, and shortly after, Lowe announced he would permanently close operations, an action court battles had already set in motion.