Registration closed at 11:59 p.m. on June 18, 2023, as required by the Big Cat Public Safety Act
The Big Cat Public Safety Act was enacted December 20, 2022, to end the private ownership of big cats as pets and prohibit exhibitors from allowing public contact with big cats, including cubs. It placed new restrictions on the commerce, breeding, possession, and use of certain big cat species. In order to continue to legally possess privately owned big cats, the Act required individuals or entities to register any big cat(s) that were in their possession before the date of enactment with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), unless another exception of the Act applies. This registration had to occur no later than June 18, 2023, which was 180 days after the date of enactment. (Registration is now closed.)
Species included under the Big Cat Public Safety Act
The Big Cat Public Safety Act refers to big cats as “prohibited wildlife species.” The prohibited wildlife species listed in the Act include the following species and hybrids of any of these species: lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), jaguar (Panthera onca), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and cougar (Puma concolor).
Note: Cougars are sometimes referred to as pumas or mountain lions. Prohibited big cats include panthers, which are not a distinct species, but refer to any black-colored big cat including leopards, cougars, and jaguars.
Specific Prohibitions under the Act (if an Exception does Not Apply)
The Act makes it unlawful for any person to:
- Import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce; or
- Breed or possess;
any live prohibited wildlife species. The Act also makes it unlawful for any person to attempt to commit any of these acts with prohibited wildlife species.
If you are an entity that falls under one of the four exceptions below, you did not need to register your big cat(s) under the Big Cat Public Safety Act. For ease of reference, requirements of the BCPSA exceptions for USDA-licensed Class C exhibitors and wildlife sanctuaries are outlined here. Other Big Cat Public Safety Act Exceptions- An entity exhibiting animals to the public under a Class C license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), or a federal facility registered with the USDA that exhibits animals, if the entity or facility holds a license or registration in good standing and meets all the requirements of the Act for the exception.
- A state college, state university, state agency, or a state-licensed veterinarian.
- A qualifying wildlife sanctuary that cares for prohibited wildlife species and meets all the requirements of the Act for the exception.
- Qualifying transporters only when in custody of any big cat solely for the purpose of expeditiously transporting the big cat to a person who qualifies for an exception under the Act.
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Exception for Private Big Cat Owners
The Act includes an exception for private individuals or entities who owned big cat(s) before this law was enacted on December 20, 2022. If you are a private big cat owner, you may keep your prohibited big cat(s) under this law, provided you had registered each big cat in your possession with the USFWS no later than June 18, 2023. For more information and eligibility requirements, please see the FAQ document.
Deadline for Submitting the Registration Form and Failure to Register
Registration closed at 11:59 p.m. on June 18, 2023, as required by the Big Cat Public Safety Act
The USFWS will accept your registration form if it was postmarked by 11:59 p.m. on June 18, 2023. Mailed registrations postmarked after 11:59 p.m. on June 18, 2023, will not be accepted because the USFWS is unable to extend the amount of time available to register. The Act set a one-time 180-day period from the date of passage (December 20, 2022) for registration.
As a result, if you did not register each big cat in your possession with the USFWS by 11:59 p.m. on June 18, 2023, you are in violation of the law, unless another exception applies (see Other Big Cat Public Safety Act Exceptions).
Violators are subject to civil or criminal penalties, or both (including potential fines, imprisonment, or both). Additionally, big cats bred, possessed, imported, exported, transported, sold, received, acquired, or purchased contrary to the provisions of the Act are subject to seizure and forfeiture.
To comply with the requirements of the BCPSA, the Service provided the public with notice of the BCPSA registration form in the Federal Register after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved the information collection and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0192 (See 88 FR 16657, March 20, 2023, Agency Information Collection Activities; Big Cat Public Safety Act Registration), and the Service also made the registration form available on this website beginning on April 18, 2023.
What you can do to Comply with the Act if you do not Qualify for an Exception and did not Register, or if you No Longer Wish to Possess your Big Cat
You could donate your big cat to another entity that qualifies to possess big cats under one of the Act's exceptions or contact the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement to discuss abandonment in the event that you did not register and are unable to donate your big cat. (See Other Big Cat Public Safety Act Exceptions)
State Laws and the Act
Even if your state law allows private big cat ownership, you must have registered your big cat with the USFWS by June 18, 2023, unless another exception of the Act applies. (See Other Big Cat Public Safety Act Exceptions.)
Updating your Registration if your Big Cat Dies or is Moved to a New Location
It is your responsibility to notify the USFWS, via this form, of changes concerning your big cat. Death, new physical location, changes to methods to prevent breeding, and changes to methods to prevent direct contact between the public and your registered big cat must be reported within 10 calendar days of the change. See FAQ document for additional information.
Additional Requirements
In addition to registering and updating your registration, the Act also requires that you:
- Do not breed, acquire, or sell any big cat after the date of the enactment of the Act (December 20, 2022), regardless of whether the activity is intrastate, interstate, or international; and
- Do not allow direct contact between the public and any big cat after the Act’s enactment date (December 20, 2022).
The Act does not allow for pre-Act owners to acquire additional big cats after December 20, 2022. Only registered pre-Act big cats may be allowed to stay privately owned.
Other Laws Related to Big Cats
It is your responsibility to follow all local, state, Tribal, and federal laws and regulations regarding prohibited wildlife species. Registration under the Big Cat Public Safety Act does not constitute authorization to engage in any activity prohibited by such laws and regulations. For example, most big cats are listed as either endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act and take (harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct) of such species and their offspring is prohibited, with limited exceptions for take authorized by statute, regulation, or permit.
Additional Information
Additional information may be found in the news release, registration form and FAQ document. If you have further questions, please email ManagementAuthority@fws.gov for questions about updating your registration or LawEnforcement@fws.gov for enforcement-related matters.
Federal Register Rule
The public comment period for the interim rule is now closed.
On Monday, June 12, 2023, we published the Regulations To Implement the Big Cat Public Safety Act in the Federal Register. This interim final rule amends the Captive Wildlife Safety Act (CWSA) implementing regulationsby incorporating the requirements of the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA) into the CWSA regulations. This rule is effective immediately; however, we provided a time frame for public comments. Comments on this interim rule and the information collection requirements contained closed on August 11, 2023. For more information, please visit the Federal Register Notice.
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