BILL TO RESTRICT SALES OF BIG CATS TAKES GIANT LEAP IN CONGRESS ANIMAL ACTIVIST TIPPI HEDREN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT PASSAGE.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer ACTON - A Senate panel Thursday approved legislation backed by actress and animal rights activist Tippi Hedren Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren (born January 19, 1930)[1] is an American actress with a career spanning six decades. She is best known for her role as Melanie Daniels in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds that restricts the sale of exotic big cats as pets. The Senate bill would make it illegal to transport exotic wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. across state lines to be sold as pets. A similar bill, introduced by Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, in the House, was approved by a committee two weeks ago. The different versions of the legislation are now expected to be considered by the full House and Senate. ``I'm very optimistic that the bill will be approved by Congress,'' Hedren said. ``It'll be a great step forward in our efforts to protect these animals.'' Hedren, who keeps 60 exotic cats - lions, tigers, cougars, leopards and cheetahs - at Shambala, a jungle-like preserve in Acton, hopes the bill will help discourage people from keeping big cats as pets. Thousands of the powerful carnivores are kept in homes, garages and back yards, often growing from adorable kittens into dangerous animals that cannot be domesticated do·mes·ti·cate tr.v. do·mes·ti·cat·ed, do·mes·ti·cat·ing, do·mes·ti·cates 1. To cause to feel comfortable at home; make domestic. 2. To adopt or make fit for domestic use or life. 3. a. . Too often, the animals maim maim v. to inflict a serious bodily injury, including mutilation or any harm which limits the victim's ability to function physically. Originally, in English Common Law it meant to cut off or permanently cripple a bodily member like an arm, leg, hand, or foot. or kill their owners, or attack members of the public, Hedren said. ``The more I learn about these animals the greater respect I have for them,'' Hedren said. ``I've never understood why you would want to have an animal that could eat you as a pet.'' The bill is designed to make the thriving private trade in big cats less lucrative for breeders and other sellers, Hedren said. Accredited accredited recognition by an appropriate authority that the performance of a particular institution has satisfied a prestated set of criteria. accredited herds cattle herds which have achieved a low level of reactors to, e.g. zoos, sanctuaries, circuses and federally licensed operations would be exempt from the law, she added. ``We hope the bill will prompt a larger examination of the practice of keeping wild animals as pets,'' said Wayne Pacelle Wayne Pacelle (born 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Humane Society of the United States, the nation’s largest animal organization. Pacelle took office June 1, 2004 after serving for nearly 10 years as the organization's chief lobbyist and , vice president of the Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a Washington, D.C-based animal welfare advocacy group. It is the largest animal welfare organization in the world, with nearly 10 million members and a 2006 budget of US$103 million. , which also supports the bill. ``The bottom line is that the risks of having a novelty pet do not outweigh the rewards,'' Pacelle said. ``The novelty of it might be interesting, but the outcome could be severe.'' Heather MacDonald, (661) 257-5257 heather.macdonald(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour SAC edition only) Animal handler Chuy Torres plays with Simba, a 14-month-old tiger, at Shambala preserve in Acton. Legislation to restrict sales of exotic big cats cleared a Senate panel on Thursday. (2 -- ran in AV edition only) no caption (tiger) Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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