I don't Outcat, most people, outside sanctuaries who keep big cats, do not keep them in proper habitats but in the minimum requirement. This is why we see accidents. I just don't agree in keeping big exotic cats as pets. It is just my opinion.
When I was little my dad had a friend who had a mountain lion as a pet that he had chained up in his back yard. The poor thing was skinny and mangy. Maybe this image is scared into my brain and I am bias in my opinion.
I understand that this is your opinion, however, MOST people do not keep reptiles in proper habitats either. Out of the few who are members on the forum sites, how many MILLIONS of reptiles are out there in private homes that are mistreated? Get on craigslist, the majority of the reptiles on there are in HORRIBLE conditions. I can't tell you how many people, even "professionals" have told me that it is normal for ball pythons to shed in a million pieces, or that you can keep a corn snake in a 10 gallon tank, or that a bearded dragon doesn't need any supplemental lighting, etc etc. Every snake I've gotten from CL has something wrong with it, whether it be missing parts of its tail, scarred from bites, or its scales peeling off from an unregulated heat source. How many people get those dial thermometers because petco told them to - but never come to find out the proper care of their reptiles? Had I not joined this site, I would never have known that I needed a thermostat! Just think, for every one person who joins the forum, how many hundreds are out there that don't? Also, hardly any one takes their pet reptiles to the vet. My ex and I went to pick up a sick BP once, we arrived to find it with probably 2-3 stuck sheds, mucus crusted across its whole face, its mouth stuck open, and extremely emaciated. They had lots of dogs that were well cared for, but the snake never saw the vet even as they saw it dying- it had a cage mate too that had died and they didn't even take it to the vet. So don't say that it's just the cat owners- it's not.
It just ruffles my feathers when people say that they are OK with this being a pet, but not that. Do I think that wolf dogs should be pets? Absolutely not- but I think that you should be able to have whatever animal you want if you have the ability to keep it properly. I have no problems with people if they educate themselves about their pets, and take good care of them. Tigers are going extinct due to medicinal poaching- NONE of the tigers kept as pets in the US are from the wild, nor can they ever be reintroduced into the wild because they are not part of the SSP. You hear about a tiger biting someone? So? I doubt it happens any more or less than we get bitten by our house cats! Heck, even corn snakes! Just because a big cat can do more damage to you doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to keep it. I do think that people should be monitored, like have regulations on if you want to have those animals. For instance, a required amount of floor and vertical space, enrichment, and a perimeter fence, etc.
Any way, sorry for my rant. I just hate that it's okay for us to have our pet snakes, but other exotic owners are somehow bad because they choose some charismatic megafauna. I don't understand that view point.
Sorry for the rant.