Born Free USA is alarmed by reports that the rapper Quavo has purchased a pet tiger. He has posted content of the animal on social media in order to brag about his new acquisition. Born Free USA’s acting CEO, Angela Grimes, says:
“This is yet another incident in which a wild animal has been bought as a ‘pet’ to be put on display and serve as a status symbol for her owner with no thought given to the animal’s needs and well-being. The exotic pet trade poses grave dangers to the animals involved, and keeping a wild animal as a pet is dangerous to human health and safety. Wild animals, like tigers, are unpredictable; they are not domesticated. They don’t deserve to be punished in an attempt to subdue their natural instincts in order to live a facsimile of what humans perceive a ‘pet’ animal should be. Now that this animal has already been exploited, the best possible outcome for her is to move to a reputable sanctuary. We ask our supporters and animal lovers everywhere to share this message with Quavo (Twitter | Facebook) and urge him to release the tiger into a legitimate and reputable wildlife sanctuary where the animal can live a life close to the one she could have had in the wild.”
Sanctuaries are not the solution to the exotic pet epidemic; the only true solution is to end the breeding, sale and possession of wild animals. To truly end the exotic pet problem, support the Captive Primate Safety Act, the Big Cat Public Safety Act, and similar future legislation so these animals are not able to be bred and sold for the pet trade in the first place. To learn more about the exotic pet trade, please click here.