Baby Lions, Tigers, and Bears Are Not Stuffed Toys

Across the country, the public can pet, feed, pose with, and play with wild animals at malls, fairs, and roadside zoos for fees ranging from $10 to $500. To facilitate such unsafe handling, baby tigers, lions, bears, and primates are pulled from the care of their protective mothers shortly after birth.

When the baby animals can no longer be used as play props, or for photographs — sometimes after just a few months — they are often discarded at shoddy roadside zoos, sold into the pet trade, or killed for their meat. This cycle of breeding, exploiting, and then dumping baby animals puts animals at risk and endangers the public.

In response to a legal petition from a coalition of animal protection and conservation organizations — including The HSUS — the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting comments on whether to prohibit public contact and close encounters with big cats, bears, and primates.

TAKE ACTION
Please personalize and submit the letter linked below to urge the USDA to act quickly and ban this cruel and dangerous practice:

https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6251

Photo of bears in the wild co Jim Robertson