WASHINGTON -- “I want to thank Representative Buck McKeon for his steadfast efforts to bring this bill to the floor. I also want to take a moment and thank Loren Bausell and Jean Flemma - both former staff of mine who helped initially craft this legislation. As many of you know, I introduced similar legislation last year and worked with Representative McKeon on this year’s proposal. I am also grateful that Chairman Richard Pombo brought this bill to the floor. I hope we can quickly reconcile the differences between the House and Senate legislation and get this enacted into law this year.

“This bipartisan bill represents a firm commitment to protect the safety of the American public and the welfare of wild animals that are increasingly kept as pets.

“Our bill provides a first step at addressing a growing national problem. According to best estimates, there are more than 5,000 tigers in captivity in the United States. There are perhaps more tigers in captivity than there are tigers in their native habitats throughout the range in Asia.

“I’ve got a stack of news articles an inch thick describing instances in almost every state where some exotic pet escaped and was roaming around a suburban neighborhood. There are also more disturbing articles about well-intentioned pet owners who run out of money because feeding a 200 pound tiger gets pretty expensive. Then there are the cases where the animals, which are far from domesticated, harm their owners or others.

“Owning an exotic cat isn’t like owning Morris the house cat. These animals are big, they cost a lot to feed, and they are one degree away from their wild instincts at any moment.

“The Captive Wildlife Safety Act bars the interstate sale or transportation of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and cougars, or their hybrids in an attempt to exercise some control over the burgeoning interstate commerce of these animals. The legislation would not ban all private ownership of these prohibited species; rather, it would outlaw the commerce of these animals for use as pets.

“The bill is specifically aimed at the unregulated and untrained individuals who are maintaining these wild animals as exotic pets. Zoos, circuses, and sanctuaries are better equipped with both the physical and financial resources to care for these animals and are not affected by this legislation.

“At a time when almost anything can be bought on the Internet, it is not surprising that the animals can all be purchased through the more than 1,000 web sites that promote private ownership of wild animals. 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.

“A wide range of groups and institutions oppose the private ownership of these carnivores.

“The U.S. 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.’

“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.’

“This bill is just one part of the solution to help protect people and exotic animals. States will continue to play a major role. I hope to see a continued grassroots effort directed at the state and local government level, to increase the number of states and counties that ban private ownership of dangerous exotic animals. Already, 12 states ban private possession of large exotic animals, while 7 states have partial bans.

“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 want to thank actress Tippi Hedron for raising awareness of this issue on Capitol Hill. Tippi operates an animal sanctuary, and often has the sad and expensive task of rescuing these animals after their owners realize the lion or tiger is a safety risk and cannot be properly cared for.”