The regulations in this subpart implement the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA), 136 Stat. 2336, which amended the Captive Wildlife Safety Act (CWSA), 117 Stat. 2871, which amended the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, 16 U.S.C. 3371-3378.

The provisions of this subpart are in addition to, and are not in place of, other regulations of this subchapter, or other Federal, State, Tribal, or territorial laws or regulations, that may require a permit or describe additional restrictions or conditions for the importation, exportation, transportation, sale, receipt, acquisition, or purchase of any prohibited wildlife species in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or breeding of any prohibited wildlife species, or possessing of any prohibited wildlife species.

In addition to the definitions contained in part 10 of this subchapter, and unless the context otherwise requires, in this subpart:

Breed means to facilitate propagation or reproduction (whether intentionally or negligently) or to fail to prevent propagation or reproduction.

Date of enactment of the BCPSA means December 20, 2022.

Direct contact or direct physical contact means any situation in which any individual may potentially touch or otherwise come into physical contact with any live specimen of the prohibited wildlife species.

Licensed entity means any individual, facility, agency, or other entity that holds a valid Class “C” license from and is inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) (See definition of “Class “C” licensee (exhibitor)” in 9 CFR 1.1.), holds such license in good standing, and meets the requirements in § 14.254.

Prohibited wildlife species (also referred to as “big cats”) means a specimen of any of the following eight 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) or any hybrids resulting from the breeding of any of these species, for example, a liger (a male lion and a female tiger) or a tiglon (a male tiger and a female lion), whether naturally or artificially produced.

Propagation or reproduction means to allow or facilitate the production of offspring of any of the prohibited wildlife species, by any means.

Public contact means the same as direct contact.

Registered pre-BCPSA owner (also referred to as “registrant”) means an entity or individual that at the date of enactment of the BCPSA was in possession of any prohibited wildlife species that was born before the date of enactment of the BCPSA and that meets the requirements in § 14.255.

Registered Federal facility means any Federal facility that exhibits animals and is registered with and inspected by APHIS under the AWA (See definition of “registrant” in 9 CFR 1.1.), holds such registration in good standing, and meets the requirements in § 14.254.

Wildlife sanctuary means a facility that cares for live specimens of one or more of the prohibited wildlife species, is a corporation that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and described in sections 501(c)(3) and 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of such Code, and meets the requirements of § 14.256.

Except as provided in § 14.257, it is unlawful for any person to:

(a) Import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase, in interstate or foreign commerce, or in a manner substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, any live prohibited wildlife species;

(b) Breed any live prohibited wildlife species;

(c) Possess any live prohibited wildlife species; or

(d) Attempt to commit any act described in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section.

To qualify for an exception in § 14.257, a licensed entity or a registered Federal facility must meet all of the requirements of this section.

(a) A licensed entity or a registered Federal facility must not allow any individual to come into direct physical contact with a prohibited wildlife species, unless that individual is a:

(1) Trained professional employee or contractor of the licensed entity or registered Federal facility (or an accompanying employee receiving professional training);

(2) Licensed veterinarian (or a veterinary student accompanying such a veterinarian); or

(3) Person who is directly supporting conservation programs of the licensed entity or registered Federal facility, the direct contact is not in the course of commercial activity (which may be evidenced by advertisement or promotion of such activity or other relevant evidence), and the direct contact is incidental to humane husbandry conducted pursuant to a species-specific, publicly available, peer-edited population management and care plan that has been provided to the Service with justifications that the plan—

(i) Reflects established conservation science principles;

(ii) Incorporates genetic and demographic analysis of a multi-institution population of animals covered by the plan; and

(iii) Promotes animal welfare by ensuring that the frequency of breeding is appropriate for the species.

(b) A licensed entity or a registered Federal facility must ensure that during public exhibition of any lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera pardus), snow leopard (Uncia uncia), jaguar (Panthera onca), cougar (Puma concolor), or any hybrid resulting from the breeding of any of these species, whether naturally or artificially produced, the animal is at least 15 feet from members of the public unless there is a permanent barrier sufficient to prevent public contact.

(c) A licensed entity or a registered Federal facility must maintain complete and accurate records of any possession, breeding, transportation, acquisition, receipt, purchase, sale, disposition, importation, or exportation of prohibited wildlife species.

(1) The records required by this paragraph (c) must be up to date and include the names and addresses of persons to or from whom any prohibited wildlife species has been acquired, received, imported, exported, purchased, sold, or otherwise transferred (including loans for exhibition, breeding, or otherwise), and the dates of these transactions.

(2) The licensed entity or registered Federal facility must maintain the records required by this paragraph (c) for the lifespan of each prohibited wildlife species and for 5 years after its death or disposition and must copy these records for Service officials, if requested.

(3) The licensed entity or registered Federal facility must make the records required by this paragraph (c) available and allow access to its facilities and its prohibited wildlife specimens for inspection by Service officials at reasonable hours.

To be a registered pre-BCPSA owner (also referred to as a “registrant”) and qualify for an exception in § 14.257, an entity or individual must meet all of the requirements of this section.

(a) A registered pre-BCPSA owner must register each individual prohibited wildlife species in their possession with the Service's BCPSA registration form (Form Number 3-200-11) by no later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the BCPSA (i.e., no later than June 18, 2023). Each individual prohibited wildlife species in the registrant's possession must:

(1) Have been born:

(i) Before the date of enactment of the BCPSA; or

(ii) On or after the date of enactment of the BCPSA from breeding that occurred before the date of enactment of the BCPSA, only if the registrant provides documentation to the Service on the BCPSA registration form (Form Number 3-200-11) to prove the individual prohibited wildlife species was born on or after the date of enactment of the BCPSA from breeding that occurred before the date of enactment of the BCPSA;

(2) Not have been acquired by the registrant after the date of enactment of the BCPSA (i.e., legally in the registrant's possession on or before the date of enactment of the BCPSA and have remained continually in the registrant's possession); and

(3) Be marked with a unique identifier that is either a tattoo or a microchip.

(b) A registered pre-BCPSA owner must not:

(1) Breed, acquire, or sell any prohibited wildlife species after the date of the enactment of the BCPSA (This requirement applies regardless of whether the activity is intrastate, interstate, or international); or

(2) Allow direct contact between the public and any prohibited wildlife species after the date of the enactment of the BCPSA.

(c) A registered pre-BCPSA owner must provide the Service with detailed information for each individual prohibited wildlife species as required by the Service in the BCPSA registration form (Form Number 3-200-11), including:

(1) Common name of prohibited wildlife species;

(2) Name given to individual prohibited wildlife species, if applicable;

(3) Genus, species, and subspecies;

(4) Birthdate and date of acquisition, including supporting documentation;

(5) Unique identifier information (i.e., microchip or tattoo);

(6) Sex;

(7) Description (e.g., eye color, scars, ear tags);

(8) Photographs of individual prohibited wildlife species;

(9) Physical location of individual prohibited wildlife species (if different from registrant's contact information);

(10) Protocols taken to prevent breeding;

(11) Protocols taken to prevent direct contact between the public and the prohibited wildlife species; and

(12) Copies of all local, State, or Federal licenses held in relation to the prohibited wildlife species, if applicable.

(d) Within 10 calendar days as required by the Service in the BCPSA registration form (Form Number 3-200-11), a registered pre-BCPSA owner must update the registration with the Service when a prohibited wildlife species dies or any of the following information changes: The location where the prohibited wildlife species is housed; the protocols taken to prevent breeding; the protocols taken to prevent direct contact between the public and big cat; ownership; or a unique identifier.

(e) A registered pre-BCPSA owner must maintain complete and accurate records of information for each individual prohibited wildlife species in their possession as required by the Service in the BCPSA registration form (Form Number 3-200-11) for the lifespan of each individual prohibited wildlife species and for 5 years after its death or disposition and must copy these records for Service officials, if requested.

(1) While the pre-BCPSA owner may not sell or otherwise engage in commerce with prohibited wildlife species, if the pre-BCPSA owner is no longer able to continue to possess their prohibited wildlife species, the pre-BCPSA owner may make arrangements to donate the prohibited wildlife species to a licensed entity, registered Federal facility, State college, State university, State agency, State-licensed veterinarian, or a wildlife sanctuary, or may make arrangements to abandon the prohibited wildlife species to the Federal Government. The disposition must not be reasonably likely to result in the registered pre-BCPSA owner's economic use, gain, or benefit, including, but not limited to, profit (whether in cash or in kind).

(2) The records required by this paragraph (e) must be up to date, and the registered pre-BCPSA owner must make these records available and allow access to their facilities and prohibited wildlife specimens for inspection by Service officials at reasonable hours.

To qualify for an exception in § 14.257, a wildlife sanctuary must meet all of the requirements of this section.

(a) A wildlife sanctuary must not:

(1) Commercially trade in any prohibited wildlife species, including offspring, parts, and byproducts of such animals;

(2) Breed any prohibited wildlife species;

(3) Allow direct contact between the public and any prohibited wildlife species; or

(4) Allow the transportation and display of any prohibited wildlife species offsite.

(b) A wildlife sanctuary must maintain complete and accurate records of any possession, transportation, acquisition, receipt, disposition, importation, or exportation of prohibited wildlife species.

(1) The records required by this paragraph (b) must be up to date and must include the names and addresses of persons to or from whom any prohibited wildlife species has been acquired, received, imported, exported, or otherwise transferred, and the dates of these transactions.

(2) The wildlife sanctuary must maintain the records required by this paragraph (b) for the lifespan of each prohibited wildlife species and for 5 years after its death or disposition and must copy these records for Service officials, if requested.

(3) The wildlife sanctuary must make the records required by this paragraph (b) available and allow access to its facilities and its prohibited wildlife specimens for inspection by Service officials at reasonable hours.

(a) The prohibitions of § 14.253 do not apply to:

(1) A licensed entity or registered Federal facility that meets all of the requirements of § 14.254;

(2) A State college, State university, or State agency;

(3) A State-licensed veterinarian;

(4) A wildlife sanctuary that meets all of the requirements of § 14.256; or

(5) A person who:

(i) Can produce documentation showing that they are transporting live prohibited wildlife species solely for the purpose of expeditiously transporting the prohibited wildlife species between individuals or entities that are excepted from the prohibitions in § 14.253; and

(ii) Has no financial interest (whether in cash or in kind) in the prohibited wildlife species other than payment received for transporting them.

(b) The prohibition on possession in § 14.253 does not apply to a registered pre-BCPSA owner who is in possession of any prohibited wildlife species that was:

(1) Born and possessed by the registered pre-BCPSA owner before the date of enactment of the BCPSA and meets all of the requirements of § 14.255 for each of the prohibited wildlife species in their possession; or

(2) Bred before and born on or after the date of enactment of the BCPSA, to a prohibited wildlife species possessed by the registered pre-BCPSA owner before the date of enactment of the BCPSA, if the registered pre-BCPSA owner provides documentation demonstrating that the breeding occurred before the date of enactment of the BCPSA and meets all of the requirements of § 14.255 for each of the prohibited wildlife species in their possession.