Cats We Left Behind

Serval is the poster child for wild cats left behind

The Long Road to the Big Cat Public Safety Act: Why Some Wild Cats Were Left Behind

The first time the idea for a federal ban on private ownership of big cats was floated, it was the late 1990s. The internet was young, the tiger cub selfie craze hadn’t yet gone viral, and the “Tiger King” era was still decades away. But even then, Carole Baskin and a handful of other advocates could see a storm coming—a growing trade in exotic cats being bred, sold, and caged across America.

The bill that started it all was called the Shambala Act, named after the Shambala Preserve founded by actress and activist Tippi Hedren. It was simple in intent but revolutionary in scope: stop the private possession and breeding of all wild cat species in the United States. That meant all of them—lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, servals, bobcats, lynx, and every cat in between. The Shambala Act also included prohibitions on using wild cats in circus acts and and all public contact with them.

But as often happens in Washington, what begins as a moral imperative can become a political marathon.

The Dream: A World Where All Wild Cats Are Free

When Big Cat Rescue joined the effort, the mission was clear. “No wild cat should be bred for life in a cage,” says Carole Baskin, who has spent decades rescuing and advocating for captive cats. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a tiger or a serval—confinement is cruelty.”

The original Shambala Act was written with that very principle in mind. Its authors knew that smaller wild cats—like servals, caracals, bobcats, and lynx—were also suffering in private hands. They might not be capable of killing an adult human, but they were enduring shortened, miserable lives in basements, backyards, and roadside zoos.

But idealism met political reality.

The Wall: Federal Law and Public Safety

In the U.S., animal protection laws never pass on compassion nor common sense alone. To clear Congress, a bill needs a hook that resonates with lawmakers—and with the public. That hook, in the case of the Big Cat Public Safety Act, was right there in the name: public safety.

Over the years, the data became undeniable. By the time the final bill passed in 2022, there had been more than 800 documented incidents involving captive big cats in the U.S., resulting in the deaths of 26 adults and children. Tigers, lions, cougars, and other “great cats” were escaping, mauling, and killing—sometimes their owners, sometimes innocent bystanders.

When confronted with such statistics, legislators finally listened. The argument was simple and urgent: these large predators pose a direct threat to human life. That clarity of risk made it possible to unite animal advocates, first responders, and law enforcement behind one cause.

But for smaller wild cats, it was harder to make the case on public safety grounds. Servals, caracals, and lynx can inflict serious injuries—but not fatalities. And without human deaths to point to, Congress wasn’t convinced.

“Sadly, we had to leave out the smaller cats to get the law passed,” Baskin explains. “It broke our hearts, but it was the only way to make progress.”

The Quiet Exemption: Cheetahs and Clouded Leopards

Among the species most painfully excluded from the Big Cat Public Safety Act were cheetahs and clouded leopards—two of the world’s most fragile felines, both emotionally and genetically ill-suited for captivity. Their omission wasn’t an oversight; it was the result of pressure from a powerful lobbying group; the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). While the coalition of true sanctuaries and animal advocates fought to protect every wild cat, AZA institutions argued for exemptions under the guise of “education.” In truth, those exceptions allowed accredited facilities to continue using cheetahs and clouded leopards as so-called “ambassador animals.” These shy, sensitive cats are often forced into public encounters—handled by keepers or paraded before donors to pose for photos—despite being among the least adaptable of all feline species to human contact. The intent may be framed as conservation messaging, but the effect is exploitation. Their stress behaviors—trembling, pacing, even self-harm—are well documented. The painful irony is that the very organizations that claim to be educating the public about conservation are perpetuating captivity as entertainment. True conservation means protecting species in the wild, not training them to tolerate human selfies in the name of fundraising.

The Victory: A Historic First Step

After more than two decades of persistence, setbacks, and reintroductions, the Big Cat Public Safety Act finally crossed the finish line in December 2022. It was a landmark achievement—the first federal law in U.S. history to ban private possession of big cats and to end cub petting and public contact with them.

It wasn’t perfect. It didn’t cover every species that needed protection. But it closed the door on the most egregious forms of exploitation that fueled the exotic animal trade for decades.

The law was a testament to years of coalition building, education, and advocacy. The Big Cat Coalition, uniting organizations like Big Cat Rescue, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Humane Society of the United States, Born Free USA, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, demonstrated that persistence and partnership can move mountains—even in the face of deep-pocketed opposition.

The Cats Still Waiting

While tigers and lions now have federal protection, the “lesser cats” remain in limbo. Caracals are still being sold as “designer pets.” Bobcats and lynx are trapped and bred for fur. Servals appear on exotic pet classifieds with heartbreaking regularity.

Their suffering isn’t smaller just because they are.

Every one of these species plays an essential role in their ecosystems. They regulate prey populations, maintain balance in the food chain, and even influence plant health through their cascading effects on nature. When they are bred for captivity—or taken from the wild—the web of life itself frays.

That’s why Carole Baskin continues to speak out. “The Big Cat Public Safety Act was a huge victory, but it’s not the end. It’s the beginning of a world where people finally understand that wild cats belong in the wild—not in cages, not in homes, and not in selfies.”

The Future: Building on Success

Passing any federal animal protection law is notoriously difficult. It requires years of evidence, relentless advocacy, and often compromise. But the Big Cat Public Safety Act proved that change is possible when people come together for a common good.

Now, the focus turns to expanding that success—to fight for servals, caracals, cheetahs, clouded leopards, and lynx. Each deserves the same freedom and respect we finally secured for lions and tigers.

Because the measure of a civilization is not just how it protects its people, but how it treats the voiceless beings who share this planet.