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Beyonce and Jay Z spent the holidays in Phuket, Thailand alongside their daughter, Blue Ivy. But the family has stirred up a little controversy after they were snapped playing with a tiger inside Phuket FantaSea, a theme park in Kamala Beach.
Now an expert from a wildlife protection advocacy group is expressing his dismay at the Carters’ interaction with the animal.
“A tiger is not a plaything,” wrote wildlife expert Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach on the website of the organization World Animal Protection. “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.”
Schmidt-Burbach tells E! News, “The tigers used for these photos are often crammed into tiny cages or chained to the floor for long periods. They are also forcibly removed from their mothers to be fed artificially by tourists. All in all, a far cry from their natural lives in the wild. But this sordid side of tourism is conveniently hidden from public view.”
There’s no word however on the specific conditions of the animal seen in the photos of the Carter family.
Still, Schmidt-Burbach has a general message: “I urge anyone who is thinking about posing with a wild animal to watch World Animal Protection’s video to learn the facts before they book their next vacation. Once people know the truth, they can take action to end this cruelty by choosing to see wild animals in the wild where they belong.”
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