Mr. President I rise today with Senator Smith of New Hampshire to introduce the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, a firm commitment to protect public safety and the welfare of wild cats that are increasingly being kept as pets.

Current figures estimate that there are more than 5,000 tigers in captivity in the United States. In fact, there are more tigers in captivity in the United States than there are in native habitats throughout the range in Asia. While some tigers are kept in zoos, most of these animals are kept as pets, living in cages behind someone's house, in a state that does not restrict private ownership of dangerous animals. Tigers are not the only animals sought as exotic pets. Today there are more than 1,000 web sites that specialize in the trade of lions, cougars, and leopards to promote them as domestic pets.

Untrained owners are simply not capable of meeting the needs of these animals. Local veterinarians, animal shelters, and local governments are ill equipped to meet the challenge of providing for their proper care. If they are to be kept in captivity, these animals must be cared for by trained professionals who can meet their behavioral, nutritional, and physical needs.

People who live near these animals are also in real danger. These cats are large and powerful animals, capable of injuring or killing innocent people. There are countless stories of many unfortunate and unnecessary incidents where dangerous exotic cats have endangered public safety. Last year in Lexington, Texas, a three-year-old boy was killed by his stepfather's pet tiger. In Loxahatchee, Florida, this past February, a 58 year-old woman was bitten on the head by a 750 pound Siberian-Bengal Tiger being kept as a pet. Just last month in Quitman, Arkansas, four 600 to 800 pound tigers escaped from a "private safari". Parents living nearby sat in their own front yards with high-powered rifles scared that the wild lions might hurt their children playing in the front yard.

The bill I introduce today would amend the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 and bar the interstate and foreign commerce of carnivorous wild cats, including lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and cougars. The legislation would not ban all private ownership of these prohibited species. It would outlaw the commerce of these animals for use as pets.

Mr. President, this is a balanced approach that preserves the rights of those entities already regulated by the Department of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act such as circuses, zoos, and research facilities. This Act specifically targets unregulated and untrained individuals who are maintaining these wild cats as exotic pets.

This bill also preserves the importance of local regulations already in existence. I sincerely hope that grass roots level organizing continues to direct State and local governments to increase the number of States and counties that ban private ownership of exotic cats. Full bans are already in place in 12 states and partial bans have been enacted in 7 states.

Mr. President, no one should be endangered by those who cannot properly keep these animals. Those exotic cats who are in captivity should be able to live humanely and healthfully.

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. The United States 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 lovable 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." 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 ask my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation and look forward to working with our partners in the House who have expressed interest in passing this bill into law by the end of this session.