Somewhere in the rocky hillsides of the Texas Hill Country, a giraffe named Gracie is alone. She escaped from Cedar Hollow Ranch in Real County nearly two weeks ago and has not been found. Search teams have used helicopters, drones, trail cameras, and hundreds of hours of ground effort. Local law enforcement continues to follow reported sightings. A $5,000 reward has been offered. Gracie is still missing.

Gracie's situation is not an accident. It is the predictable outcome of a system that allows private individuals to keep wild animals with almost no oversight. Texas is one of the least regulated states in the country for exotic animal ownership. There is no statewide ban on keeping giraffes, lions, tigers, or other wild animals as private property. The result is that animals like Gracie end up wandering through unfamiliar terrain, disoriented and at risk, while communities scramble to respond to a crisis that should never have been possible.

We are asking the Texas Legislature to pass a ban on the private ownership of exotic and non-native wild animals, and we are asking that when Gracie is found, she be placed in an accredited wildlife sanctuary rather than returned to private ownership. We are also calling on Congress to extend federal protection to all exotic animals, building on the model established by the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

Giraffes evolved within complex ecosystems that no Texas ranch can replicate. Their survival depends on specific vegetation, climate conditions, social structures, and migration patterns that have shaped the species for thousands of years. World Animal News put it plainly: wild animals are not here for "human entertainment, tourist attractions, or private collections." They are highly specialized species whose needs extend far beyond terrain alone.

Gracie deserves to be found safe. She also deserves better than a life tethered to a private ranch in a landscape she was never meant to inhabit. Sign this petition to demand that Texas act on both counts: bring Gracie home to a sanctuary, and make sure no other wild animal has to get lost in Texas before lawmakers finally respond.