Tippi Hedren Holds Press Conference at Shambala Preserve

By Sheila Appleby Williams from A Traveling Pug

Tippi Hedren, actress and animal rights activist, recently held a press conference for H.R. 4122, the “Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act” of 2012 at her exotic animal sanctuary, Shambala (an ancient Sanskrit word meaning: A meeting place of peace and harmony for animals and humans). As the director of the American Sanctuary Association for the past 13 years, part of her job is to find sanctuary space for homeless, abandoned, abused and surrendered exotic big cats. The 15 exotic animal sanctuaries in the US have reached their financial and space capacity and yet, breeding exotic pets for profit is a huge business (with revenues equal to illegal drug market) that continues to result in abandoned and mistreated animals that need to be rescued.

Ms. Hedren (star of Hitchock’s The Birds and Marnie), against a background chorus of jungle roars from the sanctuary’s residents, spoke out about the “selfishness” of keeping exotic pets and about fulfilling one of her life’s mission when her Bill to ban the breeding of exotic felines for personal possession was introduced on February 29, 2012 in the House of Representatives by co-sponsors, Rep. McKeon and Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

The bill now titled, Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act will ensure that lions, tigers and other dangerous big cats, which are bred to be sold and kept as pets or for financial gain in the U.S. – do not threaten public safety or end up living in horrible conditions where they can be subject to mistreatment and cruelty. The Bill calls for owners of exotic pets to be registered and breeding outlawed except for research purposes as well as fines up to $20,000 for violations.

Only 21 states have laws banning private ownership of exotic animals. There is no way to determine the number of dangerous exotic Big Cats being kept in private hands and what their condition is, says Ms. Hedren.

Tim Harrison, Director of Outreach for Animals and featured in award winning documentary “The Elephant in the Living Room” spoke about his recent experience in Zanesville, OH where 56 dangerous exotic animals were released by their owner. Harrison has visited a number of exotic pet “swap meets” in this country and targets the irresponsible sellers of “cute little tiger and lion cubs” that grow up to eat their owners. Harrison speaks with authority, citing statistics of maulings and deaths-his personal experience in breeding and as a former police officer and fire fighter. “When you bring a big cat into your home, it’s like someone putting a time bomb that has been set, but the owner does not know when it will explode. The police or fire department are the ones called when exotic animals get loose and there is no training for this,” says Harrison.

Shambala in Acton, California