SB179 Summary

• Makes it illegal to intentionally or knowingly possess, sell, transfer, or breed large felidae (tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, cougars, cheetahs, snow leopards, clouded leopards), wolves (excluding hybrids), or bears (except American black bears not bred in captivity).

• Permits exemptions for USDA Class C exhibitors (zoological parks, circuses), research facilities, nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries, licensed veterinary hospitals, law enforcement, and motion picture/television production companies meeting specific safety and welfare criteria.

• Allows persons who lawfully possessed these animals before the bill's effective date to keep them for the animal's lifetime if they meet requirements including liability insurance of at least $1,000,000, escape and disaster plans, proof to local law enforcement, and compliance with wildlife exhibition standards.

• Requires animals without USDA licensed rabies vaccines to be spayed or neutered and registered with the Department of Agriculture and Industries; applies to zoological parks, circuses, colleges, universities, approved animal refuges, shelters, and veterinary clinics.

• Establishes violation of the possession prohibition as a Class A misdemeanor and authorizes law enforcement to arrest violators and seize illegal animals with or without a warrant.