Selfies With Tigers Need to Stop
In honor of International Tiger Day, PETA sent an open letter to Tinder founder and chairman, Sean Red, asking him to ban tiger photos from the service. It’s actually a fantastic idea – and not just because it makes you look like an instrument.
In a letter, Ashley Fruno, associate director of campaigns at PETA Australia, explains how most of these tigers – and other animals in photographs such as elephants, dolphins, lions and other big cats – are “caged in dominant cages” and tied or drugged “before being photographed. And many of these animals are taken from their mothers when they are too young, bred in captivity or harvested through the illegal wildlife trade, and then subjected to physical abuse and great stress when they do not take strong sedatives to use as a props in photoshoot.
The wildlife photography business is primarily geared towards tourists, especially in Southeast Asia, and typically includes places that are passed off as sanctuaries or temples where animals are ‘rescued’. They claim that your money goes towards conservation efforts, but this rarely happens with attractions where animals are also used for entertainment. Even worse, the fate of these tigers as they get older. They are auctioned off to private owners, sold as part of the illegal trade in exotic animals, or killed for meat, hides, claws and other parts that can be sold as medicine.
The former tiger temple in Thailand, for example, was a popular tourist attraction that allegedly focused on conservation until government officials discovered tiger skins, tiger bone charms, teeth, furs, and more than 70 cubs contained in jugs and freezers. cameras. A study by the World Animal Welfare Project has identified over 800 captive tigers in various locations throughout Thailand, and the Thai government suggests there may be as many as 1,500 in fact. This number is staggering when you consider that there are fewer than 4,000 tigers worldwide . wild tigers. This animal entertainment has gotten so out of hand that sites like TripAdvisor have stopped booking or listing anything that could affect captive or endangered tourists .
Also, if the thought hasn’t crossed your mind, it can be dangerous to touch, hug, or even be close to the tiger, even if it is being held captive. Between 1998 and 2001, in the United States alone, about 30 people were killed or wounded by captive tigers . They are the largest and most powerful cats on Earth, with fangs three and a half inches long and four-inch claws that cut easily into flesh. Basically, a tiger can kill you in an instant if the sedatives work a little.
Last but not least, photos of tigers don’t make your dating profile more viewable anyway . Sorry brother. According to Zoosk analysts , the pictures of animals have gone from being “hot” to being “not.” In fact, they offer profiles of people posing with dogs, cats, monkeys, birds, tigers, and other animals and receive 53% fewer posts. It may not have always been this way, but times are changing. Photos of tigers on dating services have become so cliché that now entire blogs and twitter accounts are devoted to this ridiculous phenomenon. Heck, if you’re going to take a photo of a tiger, you can also add a shirtless mirror selfie, a black and white image you’re looking at the camera, and a photo you’re in Machu devil Picchu.
I mean, what exactly are you trying to say with a photograph of a tiger? Think you’re showing how much you love animals? See above. Do you think you’re showing how bad you are? Nope. To be cool, posing with a drugged tiger is like taking a selfie with a girl sleeping on a train and calling yourself a ladies’ man. Do you think this is a great conversation starter? Maybe, but not very good.
I understand tigers are great. This is my favorite animal. To get up close and personal with such a majestic creature is a tempting offer. But paying these tourist traps to take these photos sends a signal. It says that you are not against animal cruelty, abuse and exploitation – and that you willingly support it. Trust me, whether you are interested in animal conservation or not, it will never be an attractive species.
Update: A Tinder spokesperson has contacted us to let us know that they have responded to PETA’s email. In a recent blog post, Tinder urged its users to remove their photos of tigers and pledged to donate $ 10,000 to Project Cat , a program aimed at doubling the number of tigers in the wild by 2022.