Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Beyonce Knowles Criticized Over Tiger Cub Photo


HuffPo.com:
Beyonce and her family came under fire after a photo surfaced showing them participating in a tiger attraction at a theme park in Thailand. 

Last week, a photo circulated on Beyonce fan pages of the singer, Jay Z and their daughter Blue Ivy beside a baby tiger being bottle-fed at the Phuket FantaSea park. Blue watches as the Tiger drinks from the bottle while Beyonce pets its head. 

Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach with World Animal Protection, a group committed to protecting animals around the world, spoke out against the Carters' trip because of the suffering these big cats go through as part of such entertainment, including the forced removal from their mothers. 

"A tiger is not a plaything," she said in a statement on the WAP website. "Their health and well-being should not be sacrificed for a photo opportunity. When you look behind the scenes, vacation snaps like these support an industry that relies on animal cruelty. Many tourists unwittingly contribute to the suffering of wild animals like these. They’re simply not aware that their ‘once in a lifetime’ photo means a lifetime of misery for that animal.”

Vulture notes that One Green Planet also had some criticism for Beyonce after she was photographed riding a baby elephant. 

"The wee-baby elephant that Beyonce has so happily perched herself upon, was likely taken from his mother and forced to endure a six-month 'breaking' period during which time he was locked in a small enclosure and continuously beaten by his mahouts (trainers)," wrote Kate Good, for One Green Planet. "It is not unlikely that this poor elephant will spend everyday after this one carrying other tourists, exposed to the extreme heat and weather of Phuket, knowing little but a life of pain and misery."

Beyonce and her family were in Thailand for the holidays, according to E! News.

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