Tinder Told Users to Stop Selfies With Tigers – Let’s Get Instagram to Do the Same!

There are more tigers in backyards than in the wild today, and roadside zoos and wild cat petting businesses are largely to blame for this. When paying patrons see the beauty of a tiger cub, they typically do not think of where these wild animals came from. The reality is these captive wild animals are either kidnapped from the wild and sold into the corrupt exotic animal trade, or, if born in captivity, are the result of “speed breeding,” which involves removing tiger cubs from their mothers at birth so the cubs can be handled and bottle-fed by paying tourists and the mothers can become pregnant again as soon as possible.

Once these beautiful animals “age out” at around twelve weeks or so, they are often sold to private owners and roadside zoos, where they continue to be exploited for a profit.

According to a petition on Care2, adult tigers are typically given drugs to sedate them so they can pose for photos with paying visitors. Recognizing wild cat petting businesses as corrupt and inhumane, the popular dating app, Tinder, recently pressured its users to stop taking photos with wild animals like tigers and encouraged them to instead post pictures of themselves supporting the planet, like planting a tree or eating at vegan restaurants. They also promoted the use of the hashtag #NoTigerSelfies to help ignite conversation and social change about the topic. Tinder’s message was heard loud and clear by thousands of its users, so seeing another major platform take a stand would undoubtedly help this vitally important message reach new audiences.

This petition is calling on the popular photo-sharing app, Instagram, to take a lesson from Tinder and address the issue of taking photos with captive wild animals like tigers. Please take a moment to sign the petition in Support of this new movement.

Many people are entirely unaware of the corruption and abuse behind captive wild animal photo attractions, so PLEASE share this with your network to help garner more Support for the cause!

Lead Image Source: lyer.chandra/Wikimedia Commons