According to the reports I have read, he was visiting a zoo in Sao Paulo, Brazil when he tweeted a picture of a white Bengal tiger, saying “Look what I bought”. Hmmmm. He is, apparently, and I say apparently because I have no interest in him whatsoever, quite fond of pranks so the news may or may not be true.
He was however the cause of my blog today. Mainly because, me being me, I saw the headlines and said to myself, apart from the fact that surely his advisors, parents etc would have advised him against it, how could he possibly have a “pet” tiger in the US? Turns out, unbelievably, you can.
In a world where three of the nine subspecies of tiger are now extinct, with the remaining six on the danger list thanks to hunt, deforestation, poaching and trophy hunting, how can you possibly justify keeping a tiger for a pet?
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums have estimated that there are up to 12,000 tigers being held in the US. Considering that the wild population is considered somewhere between 3,500 and 5,000, this figure is astounding.
There are only (please correct me if I am wrong here) 19 states in the US that ban the private ownership of a tiger. How in this day and age is that possible?
Just think about it, where you would prefer a tiger to be? Here:
That’s where they should be. Where they were born to be. I can’t imagine the privilege of seeing a wild tiger, in it’s own habitat, living and doing exactly what it was meant to.
Or, would you prefer to see it hanging on your wall or as a rug on the floor? Being shot for pleasure? Being killed and cut up to be used for Chinese medicines which have been proved not to work?
I know what I would prefer.
If you are interested in conservation and the preservation of the wild animals of this planet, link on this link: Four Paws
