A group of Long Island residents are trying to raise awareness about the private ownership of wild animals.

There is currently no federal law that bans people from owning a lion, tiger or even a bobcat. This mean that in many cases, untrained ordinary citizens can buy and sell wild animals and try to raise them in their own homes.

David Enden, who received his college degree in conservation biology, teamed up with his East Setauket High School classmates, John Mingione, and Chris Capelluto, to create a documentary about the plight of big cats who are bought and sold to live among us.

The men plan to travel the country to collect footage for the film, and hope to have all of their shooting done by the end of the summer.

The group has also launched a kickstarter campaign that has already netted them more than $5,000, but they say that amount is about a third of what they need to complete the project.