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.
[How ‘Tiger King’ wooed Congress before it was ‘Tiger King’].
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.
Fish and Wildlife Service and abide by federal regulations.
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. »