Thursday, July 31, 2003 | 9:29 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- Pet lions and tigers may be harder to come by as legislation stopping interstate shipping of these and other big cats moves through the Senate.
On Wednesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved a bill, introduced in January by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., that prohibits anyone from the shipping of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars or cougars, making it harder for someone to purchase the animals.
The bill exempts zoos, circuses and other federally-licensed facilities that may have these animals. That puts entertainment acts such as magicians Siegfried and Roy in the clear since the pair hold a federal license for their white tigers.
The Humane Society of the United States, which approached Ensign with the bill due to his veterinarian background, supported its passage -- estimating that 10,000 to 15,000 exotic cats are kept as pets in the country.
"There's no good reason for anyone to have a 400-pound lion or tiger as a pet," said Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president with the Humane Society of the United States. "A basement or a back yard is not a suitable home."
Pacelle said the "exotic pet" trend has boomed in the last 20 years, with people no longer satisfied just having a regular dog or cat.
He said it's a public safety issue since these animals instinctively kill other animals.
Ensign said if approved, the legislation will protect not only the health and safety of the animals, but also the "people who try to keep them as pets."
But Tiffany Schultz, manager of the Exotic Pets store on Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas, said prohibiting Nevadans from buying these animals from out-of-state breeders would be "taking a very important part of basic freedom away from them."
"Usually the breeders are in other states," she said. "Unfortunately, there is really no breeder of exotic cats in Nevada."
She called the legislation "unjust" and said there are better ways to deal with the matter.
"Passing legislation like this is only going to hurt people who are already obeying the law," said Schultz, who occasionally sells big cats and other exotic animals. "It's pretty much like anything else that's been widespread for awhile and then you try to prohibit it -- people will still do it, it will just be technically against the law."
Schultz said the real problem is that too many unscrupulous dealers sell exotic animals to buyers who are not prepared for the demands of ownership.
"They could set up a very strict screening process" for potential owners of exotic animals, she suggested. "The pet stores could be required to contact the state and see whether or not they approve this person."
When customers come to her store looking for big cats, Schultz said, she first questions them carefully to find out how serious they are and how much they know about caring for the animals.
"We are highly picky," she said. "If I don't feel they're responsible enough ... I don't care if they hand me the money or not, I'm not going to give them the animal."
If the customer passes inspection and fills out all the proper paperwork, Schultz said she attempts to find a breeder in their state, "but it's not always possible."
For the owners who do truly care for their pets and know what they're doing, Schultz said that the value of ownership is "priceless."
"I would never move to Hawaii or California, because I couldn't own my animals there," she said. "The people that keep these animals are like people who collect cars or jewelry, only with these animals there is definitely a bond between them and their owner."
Frank Horvath, who owns Pet Kingdom on East Tropicana Avenue, said he doesn't sell big cats anymore, because he doesn't want the responsibility hanging over his head if the owner handles the animal improperly.
Still, he said he thought a licensing process would be a better idea than a ban on transporting the animals between states.
"There are the really purist animal lovers that have these animals, and there are some people that it works out very well with," he said. "But with the majority of the population I think it's not a very good idea to have those animals."
Horvath noted that many of the exotic pet owners in Southern Nevada live in Pahrump, or other areas outside of Clark County that have few, if any, restrictions. For these people, he said, it's quite easy to find a tiger or other exotic animal.
"All these animals are cute when they're young, but as they grow up, they have wild instincts, they're unpredictable," said Joe Boteilho, Clark County Animal Control manager.
Boteilho said calls on such animals come in spurts, where one may not come for a year but then two will come in during the same month.
He said people tend to buy such animals over the Internet when they do not have the proper skills or experience to handle them or even the right cage.
"It's a danger not only to themselves, but to others," Boteilho said.
Sen. James Jeffords, I-Vt., ranking member of the Senate committee, and nine other senators co-sponsored the bill. It could now go to the floor at anytime, but will most likely be considered after the August recess.
Earlier this month, the House Resources Committee approved a similar bill, proposed by Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., but full floor action will wait until the House reconvenes.
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