Photo Credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/ We Animals

Why Selfies with Wild Animals are Bad
It’s never a good idea to have a selfie taken with a wild animal, whether a cub, or full grown. Why?

Once cubs get too big and dangerous, they are discarded to the black market, roadside zoos, or sold for private ownership or canned hunting. Some are killed and sold for parts or food.

• The cub petting industry puts profit ahead of animal welfare.

• Tiger cubs are only useful to businesses for four weeks of their lives, when they are small enough to handle, according to Carolina Tiger Rescue.

• Like human babies, cubs should be sleeping 16 hours a day, not kept awake all day to be exploited for selfies.

• The first two years of a cub’s life should be spent with it’s mother learning how to survive in the wild. The mother teaches cubs to stay away from people. Because these cubs never learn this, they can never be released into the wild because they would not survive.

TIP: Exhibitors may tell you that they are breeding tigers for conservation. They may say that cub petting helps fund tiger conservation, or that the cubs’ mother was killed and the cubs are rescues. Don’t believe the lies.

• Cubs are often fed a formula that lacks proper nutrition, resulting in metabolic bone disease in which their bones do not form properly, leading to painful, debilitating issues as they grow and age.

• According to Carolina Tiger Rescue, mothers used for cub petting are also breeding far more than what she would in the wild, draining her physically and emotionally.

• Cubs are often physically abused, slapped and punched if they don’t cooperate and sit still for photos.

• After hours the animals used for selfies and petting often live in cramped cages in miserable conditions with no mental stimulation or physical exercise, vet care or proper nutrition. They often suffer physical abuse. Many have either been stolen from the wild, or bought from the exotic animal trade.

Learn more about why you should say no to cub petting