By Wayne Pacelle

The shooting of Bobo the 600-pound tiger is the latest in a series of tragic incidents involving big cats kept as pets. Bobo escaped on July 12 by scaling the 12-foot wall around the Florida home of his owner, Steve Sipek, an actor who once played Tarzan in the movies. The animal remained within 200 yards of Sipek's yard for 24 hours, but was shot dead by Florida wildlife officers the following day after he reportedly exhibited signs of aggression.

Captive tigers mauled two children recently in North Carolina. Last year the nation learned about the perilous threat big cats pose when Antoine Yates was hurt by the tiger he kept in his Harlem apartment. And entertainer Roy Horn, of Siegfried and Roy, was badly wounded when a performing tiger turned aggressive.

They are extraordinary and wonderful animals, to be sure. But the fact is, tigers, lions, and other big cats are dangerous, volatile, and genetically hard-wired to kill. There is a place for them in our world, but not in our backyards or basements.

There is little point in contesting Sipek's claim that he loved Bobo and the other big cats in his possession. This is a common assertion made by people who keep them. But good intentions are not enough. Although Florida is one of more than a dozen states that regulate the keeping of wildlife by private citizens, the public is put at risk, and animals are harmed, when individuals attempt to run their own exotic menageries. These animals belong in the wild, not in private hands.

Of the estimated 10,000 to 15,000 big cats living in the United States, less than 10% are kept in professionally run and accredited zoos and sanctuaries. Most others live under piteous circumstances in roadside exhibits, traveling shows, basements, barns, and backyards. In too many cases, states grant pseudo-sanctuary status to individuals on the dubious claim that they are fulfilling either a conservation or educational function. Most such operations fail to meet even minimum standards for specialized facilities and housing, security, and caregiver competency. Lax state standards pose a genuine threat to public safety and are in urgent need of revision.

In late 2003, President Bush signed into law the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, a bipartisan measure to prohibit the interstate trade in big cats for the pet trade. That was an important federal response to the epidemic problem of people fancying big cats as pets. Now the federal government needs to enforce the law and expand it to cover other dangerous wild animals kept as pets, such as bears, primates, large reptiles, and venomous snakes. The states also need to step up. There are 30 states that do not ban keeping big cats as pets, and even more that allow people to keep other dangerous wild animals.

Tigers are genetically programmed to cover a range of 100 miles a day, swim rivers and bring down prey twice their size. They may appear to be tame and friendly, but the recent attacks—many on children—reveal the danger they present to their owners and others. Captive tigers should only be housed in accredited zoos and sanctuaries, not by amateurs, however well-intentioned they may be.

We encourage those who specifically wish to help animals like Bobo to devote themselves to the preservation of habitat in these animals' native ranges in Africa and southeast Asia, to the support of legitimate sanctuaries, here and abroad, and to the suppression of the trade in exotic animals, all strong priorities for The Humane Society of the United States.

And responsible citizens should not keep any wild animal as a pet. If you want an animal as a companion, go to a local shelter or breed rescue group, and save the life of a domestic dog or a cat. They have been bred to live comfortably in our environments. Leave wild animals where they belong—in the wild.

Wayne Pacelle is Chief Executive Officer of The Humane Society of the United States.