Our domestic cats’ cousins have made headlines lately. Two stories within a week of each other reported a lion chasing cars on an Ohio highway and a tiger attacking a worker at Shambala Preserve, a wildlife preserve owned by actress Tippi Hedren in Southern California.

I applaud Tippi Hedren and her organization for providing sanctuary to so many big cats in trouble. Many of these captive-born creatures come from backgrounds of abuse and neglect. They wouldn’t survive in the wild, because they weren’t taught how to by their mothers. They can’t be pets either, because they’re still wild.

Look at cheetahs, for example. Cheetahs clearly were born to run. I’ve seen the look in one cheetah’s eyes as he paced back and forth in his zoo enclosure. That look said, “I have to be free. I have to get out of here before I lose my mind.”

Because many of the wild cat species are poached from an already shrinking habitat, captive breeding programs are necessary to ensure their survival. The fact is there are more tigers bred in the United States than there are in their natural habitats. Zoos and sanctuaries work hard to care for these animals and provide them with fulfilling lives. It requires a lot of money, resources, education and experienced staffing to run these facilities. Breeding these animals as pets and for profit, however, does not help the endangered species.

I can understand why people want big cats as pets. They’re breathtakingly beautiful and their cubs are so adorable, you just want to cradle one in your arms. But they’re also powerful predators with an instinct to hunt and kill for their food and survival. To take that away from them by confining them to a basement, bedroom or backyard is dangerous for people and unfair to them. These animals are worthy of dignity and deserve our respect.

To learn more about the big cats and how to help their survival, click here.