Beyonce and Jay-Z are the best celebrities ever when it comes to taking interesting vacations. I think they’re even better at vacationing than Brangelina. Bey and Jay go to all kinds of different places, sometimes by private plane, sometimes by yacht. They go to museums. They soak up local culture. They go shopping. They take Blue Ivy out to see the local animals. Well, for the 2014 Bey-Z Christmas vacation, the family went to Thailand. They went to see a Muay Thai fight. They went to local temples. They wore headpieces. And they brought Blue Ivy out to meet a baby tiger (see the Instagram photo above). This tiger cub photo is causing some problems!
Beyoncé and Blue Ivy are under fire after photos surfaced online of the mother-daughter duo playing with a baby tiger. It turns out that the entire Carter family spent the holidays in Thailand before the New Year and one of their exciting activities was getting the chance to bottle-feed a little four-legged furry friend! In the snaps, Bey and Blue are seen smiling and petting the wildlife while Jay Z looks on and even takes photos of the occasion.
And while the meet-and-greet seems innocent enough, World Animal Protection wildlife expert Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach is less than pleased about it.
“A tiger is not a plaything. 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 continued, “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.”
She had one final message to those who either have, or are planning to visit with baby tigers in a similar manner.
“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.”
Well… I mean, it’s not like Beyonce personally captured the tiger cub and kept it in a cage. The Carter family was sightseeing, and they saw a tiger cub being bottle-fed. What surprises me is that Beyonce felt comfortable enough to pet the tiger cub. I wouldn’t do that! Those little tiger cub claws are sharp as hell. Anyway, I’m sure this criticism will not affect Beyonce in the least. And while I understand why this wildlife expert is trying to make this a teachable moment, I also think Bey and Jay should be applauded for traveling to different places and really trying to soak in the culture.
Here’s something else nice from Beyonce – she arranged a special screening of the ‘On the Run’ tour footage for the troops, and she made a special video message for the USO. What cracks me up is the soldiers FREAKING OUT that Beyonce made a video for them.
Photos courtesy of Beyonce’s social media.
Can she LIVE?
+1
As an animal lover if I had the chance to touch a baby cub I would. People complain over any little thing these days.
I am an animal lover so I wouldn’t even go to Phuket Fantasea
They take those cubs away from the mother pre maturely just so tourists can feed them. Then are drugged, declawed and kept in small enclosures. When they have served their purpose or they get too many cubs becoming adults, they sell them to a circus, a slummy zoo or they just kill them.
Thailand only just introduced their first animal cruelty laws and the laws passed say they now cannot make animals fight unless they have a permit and they cannot eat live animals.
If these sort of celebrity photos are getting criticism then it may just persuade tourists to stop going to these places and causing further cruelty. Or maybe press the Thai Government to make these animal attractions less cruel. Phuket Fantasea is on UK travel industry black list to try and stop this animal cruelty
I’m not promoting animal cruelty,I hate it just as much as the next person. All I’m saying is that if I had a chance to touch a cub, I would. I’m not a fan of Bey and have made negative comments about her but damn the hate is strong with this one.
Bey is getting criticism for this simply because she’s Bey.
As for people who are saying animals belong in the wild, I don’t see yall out there protesting zoos.
V4Real, I protest zoos by not supporting them.
This one’s tough.
I’ve gotten a very thorough education about the mistreatment of wild animals, wild cats in particular, just by following a wild cat rescue in my Facebook feed. Prior to that, I honestly had no idea who many wild cats were being held in captivity in inhumane conditions, often to end up transferred to a planned “hunt” in which hunters are invited to shoot the animal for a fee.
Like kiddo, I also refuse to go to a zoo.
That being said, I honestly don’t think that Jay or Bey knew that what they was doing was wrong.
On a lighter note, that cub is absolutely adorable.
@Kitten, In reading the top excerpt, I don’t see that there was specific criticism of Beyonce as a person, but rather a general statement on the practice. She has a very staunch and wide following so therefore the wildlife protection agency will reach a broader audience, who might have otherwise considered this adventure endearing because their idol participated. I can’t say what Beyonce knew about the practice beforehand, but people really tie themselves up in knots about supposed ‘criticism’, which really sometimes is only just an opportunity to provide education. I haven’t heard anything negative about this wildlife group that would imply that they are a PETA-type shock-value machine.
@V4Real – Well you can go and touch the same cub all be it declawed and drugged but a cute cub nether the less. Just go to Phuket FantaSea and pay very little and you too can get a drugged tiger cub for 10 seconds that is passed around like a rag doll. You can also get your photo taken on an elephant all be one that has been through Phajaan and had their limbs stretched, hit continuously in their skull with bull hooks, stabbed and other lovely things just so people can have pictures taken while the cute elephants are being kicked in the ears by their handlers so they are waving at the tourists for an hour at a time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcvGGe-zpIA
There is a HUGE difference between zoos with proper veterinary care and zookeepers who try and make a difference to a captive animal’s life, and paying money to see abused animals.
I am not hating on Beyonce who probably was unaware how the cute tiger is treated but maybe with the publicity she has bought to this topic, people may find out just how horribly these animals are treated (especially in Thailand) or maybe people will just think the tiger is too cute to care about its well being.
SuePerb, Zoos that provide a somewhat natural and adequate habitat, space-wise are different than zoos with cages or small enclosures. It doesn’t matter how much you care for that wild animal, if they can’t roam and engage in some normal activity; they suffer both physical and psychological scars from those type of conditions.
I know kiddo that was my point, maybe it didn’t come out right
@ Kiddo-I don’t believe I said anywhere in my comment that Beyoncé was being unfairly criticized?
I simply said that I doubt she was aware that what she was doing was wrong–many people don’t.
I never blamed the organization for taking this as an opportunity to educate the public–on the contrary, I actually think that was the right move.
@SuePerp. Just stop. I see what you’re trying to do here. Your fight is with Phuket, not with me so take it to them.
You don’t need to link a Youtube video for me. I am very well aware of cruelty to wildlife. Everybody have opinions and there are some opinions that it’s even cruel to keep animals in a zoo. You don’t think animals in the zoo get sedated, well yeah, thay do. Stop trying to debate with me by making it seem as if I’m all for the mistreatment of animals simply because I said if I had the opportunity to pet a cub I would. Did I say I would like to travel to Phuket FantaSea to pet a cub? That’s not cool what you’re trying to do.
I have seen shows about the mistreatment of wildlife. I”ve watched shows where people try to train animals to put on a live show for the audience. Everytime it goes bad and that particular animal attacks that trainer, I don’t feel bad for the person. I just say that animal is doing what an animal does; leave it alone. When people are antagonizing a wild animal and it attacks them, I’m on the animals side; why are you bothering it. When Roy of Sigfried and Roy was attacked by his beloved tiger, I said what do you expect from an animal that is not meant to be domesticated. People said the tiger went crazy. In the words of Chris Rock, “that Tiger didn’t go crazy, that tiger went tiger.
Kitten, I responded to you but not all of what I wrote was directed toward you specifically
I agree with you SuePerb… I would never frequent those places. They’re disgusting and gross. Those animals are really really abused. It’s super tragic. Breaks my heart :(.
@Kiddo, I boycott zoos too, as well as circuses and theme park aquariums. Affecting the bottom line is the only way to end the abuse.
Of course it would be amazing to pretend this tiger cub lives in a magical kingdom of headdresses, animal print thrones, and endless bottles of milk – for the privilege of petting it. But I can’t separate out the abuse. That’s why I’ll never “swim with dolphins”. It’s an unnatural and stressful environment, and the dolphins have been known to act out and hurt people.
The whole dominion treatment of animals drives me mad.
SuePerb
I understand your passion for animals, but I think you are twisting V4Real’s meaning in a very unfair and seemingly intentional way to make a point, and that’s not a valid debating technique. She never said she didn’t care about the well being of animals, and you know it.
I travel to Thailand annually and am actively involved with an animal rescue organization as both a sponsor and volunteer in country. It is common knowledge that tigers are endangered and are no longer found in the wild due to poaching for the sake of tourist photo ops. The conditions of facilities like the one Jay and Bey are at are so far beneath the conditions of North American zoos, that a blind man would be horrified. Cubs are removed from their mothers and forcibly weaned, drugged to be malleable, teeth and claws filed down and over fed by naive tourists clambering to pay $3000 baht ($30 us) for their own tiger experience and pics. The mothers are sold to China on the black market and this cycle continues ad nauseum, so long as foreign visitors ignore the reality of this highly lucrative industry of cruelty and death. As an animal lover, I implore others to think beyond the cool pics you think you’re looking at and see the plight of these precious and magnificent beings.
And the worst part is that zoos and places like this one often use an animal’s endangered status as justification for keeping them. They deny responsibility for contributing to the depletion of the species, then piously claim they do what they do to keep the species going and “educate” the population.
Bella: Thank you for that information.
Yes but it seems she can’t without putting it all out on instagram.
Haha Beyonce RARELY responds only if it will affect her deeply does she get her publicist to say something, otherwise she usually pays stories dust especially P.E.TA who have it in for her, years ago they pretended to be her number one fan paid for a meet and greet and bombarded her with footage on how mink coats etc are made.
Is anyone really shocked this woman doesn’t give a shit about animal welfare? Not saying this instance is that (the tiger could be part of a zoo/conservation act, I’m not sure from the article.)
I agree about going to different places and absorbing the culture but..it isn’t always as simple as that.
That’s like saying, “Oh I’ll go to a bull fight in Spain”..ok a bit extreme but i’s their culture, It’s more similar to getting your photo with dolphins or elephants etc. A lot of the times these animals are kept in horrible conditions and wheeled out for tourists to play with/get their photo taken with, which is something I avoid whenever I travel.
Exactly. I might give her props if she was going around doing green/responsible tourism. But she isn’t. No props from me.
Who knows what type of place she was visiting?! In Indiana we have an exotic cat rescue park that is only for those types of animals that were purchased crazily as ‘pets’ then the stupid owners realized they couldn’t deal with them, so this park takes in those animals and gives them a home for the rest of their lives. Those types of animals can never again be released into the wild. What if that was the type of park they were visiting? What if it was a teaching zoo? Who the heck are we to judge? I’ve taken my kids to zoos, visited zoos as a child… so has probably 95% of the population.
http://www.exoticfelinerescuecenter.org/home.html
That place looks like several of the others that I follow, and they all do good work, providing habitats and care for animals that can’t be released into the wild and are often rescued from bad situations.
The thing they all have in common, including EFCR, is that they DO NOT allow direct contact with the cats, including cubs, for both the well being of the animals and the safety of the visitors.
@mellie,
I totally agree. The wildlife person seemed to be speaking in generalities without finding out what type of facility they actually visited.
They went to Phuket FantaSea. It says so at the bottom of the photo
According to Bella above who has actually been to Thailand, she says it’s not good…
@mellie – a reputable sanctuary sterilizes the females and absolutely doesn’t breed the animals. As stated above, they also don’t allow their animals to be used as a petting zoo.
I have lived and worked in Phuket Thailand. Phuket FantaSea. It is NOT a legit animal rescue center or sanctuary. Their practices are not kosher.
Ok, then I stand corrected about the facility, but everyone is full of crap if they are saying they haven’t ever taken their children to some sort of zoo…I know I have, we just couldn’t pet the animals, other than the goats/cows/horses!
Oh come on now- do you really think her being uninformed about the conditions this tiger may be living in (so many people are a little uninformed about issues like this, including myself) automatically means that she as a person doesn’t give a sh!t about animal welfare? I have a hard time believing that that kind of statement would ever be made about Angelina Jolie or any other public figure who was almost universally loved and respected, even if they did the exact same thing. I think sometimes people allow their negative opinions of a public figure they’ve never met to shape their judgment of every thing that person does or says, and it makes them less willing to give the benefit of the doubt.
Well…given that she’s unapologetic about wearing fur, having fur in her clothing line, wore python, iguana as part of her superbowl costume, yes it’s fair to say she doesn’t give a shit about animal welfare, or does she only care about dogs, cats and domestic animals? That’s just the stuff we know about.
Lindy79: Thank you!
Considering that Beyoncé knows the facts of the cruel fur industry and continues to wear fur and other skins I sincerely doubt she give a flying f*ck about the plight of tigers or any other species. Someone of her abilities could easily contact animal welfare groups and work in conjunction with them to have a real teachable moment for the world and try to help a magnificent species like the tiger. But, as with everything else, it’s all about her so she just does what she does and puts it on Tumblr, her altar to herself.
I’m currently studying in Thailand, and from my understanding, those places are tourist traps that drug their animals so they can get money. It happens, and it’s wrong, but if you don’t research and you suspend your belief of it, do you feel anything about it? I mean, I doubt Bey knew about it beforehand (I only did because I know people who told me). It’s the same with a lot of elephant shows.
It’s all fun and games until Blue Ivy loses an arm.
0_0
This sounds cruel but it’s true. They never report on the number of people who have serious accidents at these Tiger temples. I’m surprised she let her child that close to it.
Also, when are the folks gonna learn that Beyonce doesn’t give a shit about animals. She wore animal prints to a vegan restaurant.
Prints, fur ,leather, a jumpsuit with pepperoni all over it.lol
See, I’m a little disappointed in people that think it’s ok to support animal tourism. There are many levels of support and while the operators of these attractions must take a lot of the blame, so too should people for supporting animal tourism. If people stopped supporting this kind of tourism, including paid experiences where they can pat tigers, or ride elephants and so on, then there would be no incentive for the operators to continue to offer these kind of attractions. While there is still good money to be earned (particularly in developing countries), animals will continue to suffer. I realise everyone needs to make a living, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of an animals welfare. I can’t help but think that people will see Beyonce and Co patting the tiger and think that it is a good and perfectly acceptable way to spend their tourism dollars.
ITA, a wild animal is not a “tourist attraction” and though I understand that Beyoncé herself wasn’t responsible for the tiger cub’s being there it does send a sad message.
I was actually on safari in southern Africa late last year and one of the other guests asked our guide if we would have an opportunity to interact with any lions or leopards. Our guide said no, because they don’t encourage that kind of thing; we weren’t to feed any of the animals or even get too close. At the end of the day, they deserve to be treated with respect, and not gaped at, manhandled and treated like toys.
I also saw a photo of Beyonce riding a baby elephant and was expecting more press about that but it seems to have been missed. A baby elephant! Likely taken after it’s mother was poached or killed trying to protect it’s baby. No excuse for her ignorant behaviour.
“Well… I mean, it’s not like Beyonce personally captured the tiger cub and kept it in a cage.”
I am shocked and dismayed by this statement. So are you of the opinion that if you didn’t actually kill the elephant or rhino for it’s tusk(s), chain the bear for it bile or trap or farm the fox it’s not on you if you have a cute trinket carved from ivory, use the ground rhino horn or bear bile for medicinal purposes or wear that fur coat?
Some people need to calm down.
+1
Some people need to be more concerned about the plight of others than their own entertainment once in while.
Some of us don’t want to calm down because cruelty is not necessary. If cruelty to others can be avoided why not avoid it? Why promote cruelty and exploitation when it is not necessary? That is the problem some of us have with Beyoncé.
At least she didn’t lose her shit Tiger-blood-Alaskan-Style, by blurting out a tome of a run-on sentence, of incomprehensible non-sequiturs and ad hominem attacks, interspersed with golly gees, God’s plan, and shucks.
*tiny silver linings*
ETA: I heard that those animals are sometimes drugged to keep them docile and sluggish; not cool.
At least she doesn’t devour tiger meat like Obama probably did when he was a tiny criminal child. Said Sara Palin. Except I’m sure she threw in God and “critters” somewhere.
I didn’t know about animal tourism, and it breaks my heart to hear about it. Humans are just limitless in their cruelty, it seems. I’ve never liked zoos, even though I know they do a lot for animals in some ways, but it just seems so cruel to keep wild animals in captivity just so we can gawk at them. This is worse.
But having said that, I sort of feel sorry for Beyoncé about this. I give her the benefit of the doubt that she probably didn’t realize the full story. But I don’t expect many other people to, as she seems to bring on such rage by existing.
Zoos are terrible, really.
I didn’t have a clue either about animal tourism, so I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt too.
And don’t forget about the lions bred for hunts:
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jun/03/canned-hunting-lions-bred-slaughter
So upsetting and horrific.
BREAKING NEWS: Beyonce criticized for breathing. Why would this harlot do that? How dares she!
Going to places like Tiger Temple in Thailand, or any of the petting zoos for tigers in a country that doesn’t give them sanctuary status actually links to exotic animal traffic, canned hunting, and habitat destruction. This isn’t about Beyoncé having enough money to go to another country, it’s about her and her entire team making a really really poor choice. Animals should be kept wild. They apparently think they’re playthings and photo ops. So no, it’s not ok.
WORD.
the child is so close to the tiger.
and they are just being EXTRA as usual.
Petting a cub is a problem? Take it up with people who wear the skinned animals!!
She also does that.
BOOM! She would have bought a coat made out of tiger is she could.
Should these experts be more concerned about these television shows used to exploit animals and their habitats? Shouldn’t they be more concerned with these animal organizations who have taken wild animals from their homes and put them into steel cages for research? Beyoncé feeding a baby tiger is the least of their concerns.
Generally they are. It’s possible to be concerned about 2 things at the same time.
lucy2: Indeed.
I really like that Jay Z and Beyonce travel and explore the world. Not just Cancun or Vegas. They went to Iceland, now Thailand. I feel like celebrities only go to Hawaii, Cabo or Miami. There are so many amazing places in the world and they have the money to see them.
I follow a number of big cat preservation groups, and this sort of thing is a major problem all over the world. Many people aren’t aware of it, they just see the opportunity to pet a tiger cub. I’d love to do that myself, but now that I’ve learned about it I never would.
Most likely they had no idea what really goes on, and just thought it was a great experience. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt with that, and hope they now know it’s not a great thing and avoid it in the future.
That’s what I think, too.
Yes! I posted pretty much the EXACT same thing above.
I think that’s why I can’t criticize her too harshly, because I think she was simply unaware.
Or maybe I’m giving her too much credit?
I think you are giving her too much credit. With the army of people working for her and her husband they have every opportunity to be more pro-active in their approach to the world at large. That was one of the things I admired about Princess Diana; I was never a big fan of hers until that moment she held the hand of an AIDS patient (this was early in the AIDS epidemic when people thought you could get the virus from mosquitos) and I realized she did it on purpose because she knew the world’s lenses were on her and she was using her status and publicity to do some good for someone other than herself. I don’t recall Beyoncé ever doing anything that selfless.
Beyoncé reminds me of the celebs who take gigs in foreign countries and make millions from tyrannical despots: after they are called out on it they say they did not know, had no idea, etc., etc. But they keep the money. Beyoncé never even comments, never seems to learn.
Yup. I’ve criticized her for a number of things but I honestly feel she didn’t know. I didn’t but thanks to Schmidt-Burbach I am now aware of and horrified at the deplorable practices inflicted on tiger cubs and other wild animals.
I don’t see Beyonce being called out so much as the people and places that facilitate these cruel practices.
Between this and her tourist vacation to Cuba, it’s clear Beyonce is rather ignorant about the world. I am hoping that in her missteps, she is also learning.
Actually, the US ban on Cuba has been deemed illegal by the UN for 22 years in a row. Bey and Jay weren’t in the wrong there (over 3 million people a year travel to Cuba) and I don’t see anything terribly wrong with this either. We don’t know if the tiger cub is from a sanctuary or not. Bey gets torn apart for breathing so this is probably not even a blip on her radar.
I would actually enjoy a trip to Cuba.
My husband is dying to go to Cuba. He wants to go before it gets all touristy and ruined.
Cuba is beautiful. Do go and walk on Quinta avenida, and on the malecon.
Why not criticize the entity that does this stuff, not Beyonce?
How about both?
They did, they criticized THIS practice, and secondly, when you participate, you are cosigning on the activity. If she didn’t know before, what better way than to educate others after having been schooled herself? Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach didn’t call Beyonce a pariah, but cautioned against supporting these types of tours.
It looks like its front paws are tied together with a rag of some sort. It also seems that its front legs are at a strange angle because of the ties. If the animal’s front limbs are restricted, that would account for the lack of fear of claws. In that case, it’s not as though the animal were able to lash out freely.
Poor creature.
Why is it that this woman gets criticized for every little thing she does? I feel like she takes heat for things other celebs tend to get away with. I also remember Rihanna getting in trouble for something similar in Thailand, although I think some people went to jail in that situation. I think it was about a petting zoo. Not exactly the same thing but yeah…Its not even that serious. Like you said Kaiser I like that they take interesting trips around the world and seem to be exposed to many cultures. I myself have been to other places around the world such as France, Cuba, UK, India, Jamaica, Haiti & South Africa. It really is a pleasure to soak in different cultures.
I went to a place like this in Thailand once and was really naive thinking how cool it would be to pet a tiger. Only after I walked around did I realise it wasn’t what it seemed. There were tiger cubs in cages no bigger than a puppy crate, and full size leopards and tigers in cages about the size of a single garage. To compare it to a zoo is way off the mark, even zoos are nicer. Unfortunately I very very much doubt this was a sanctuary as this is a common tourist attraction in Thailand. Only later did I realise how unethical it is, it doesn’t take a genius to work out these tigers are drugged (a tiger isn’t naturally gonna sit there and let you pet it for fun!). Sad all round, not gonna shade her per se but the whole industry is wrong.
For those who wish to be educated further, might I suggest the following website:
http://www.worldanimalprotection.org//our-work/animals-wild/protect-animals-holiday-ending-wild-animal-abuse-entertainment
For those who wish to remain ignorant, I have nothing further.
Thanks for the link Tamsen. I refuse to visit zoos when I travel and now I know what are some other places to avoid.
I’ve been an avid animal lover my whole life and support groups like World Wildlife Fund, Best Friends Animal Society and The Humane Society so I’m going to have to come down on the side of the animal rights group here. Although it’s seemingly innocent petting a Tiger cub, I would think they should wonder how this came about? I also don’t support zoos or the circus. I did take my son to Sea World when he was little and we played with the captive dolphins. I am very ambivalent about that organization because while they have trained animals that perform for tourists they are also promoting conservation and animal health research. I would actually criticize Bey-Z more for allowing Blue to be so close to a tiger with those sharp claws and teeth.
This is BEYONCE we are talking about. Not the brainiest of celebs, in fact, one of the most oblivious. She speaks like she has a grade 8 education and hasn’t had an intelligent thought in her head EVER or at least a thought that doesn’t include her, her clothes, her music, ect. it’s all Beyonce-thoughts all the time people, it’s Beyoncé’s world, don’t you know!! I don’t recall EVER hearing her express an intelligent thought EVER. She probably was thinking “how do I look this pic? Fabulous! Let’s publish it!” and…that’s it…pretty much what goes on in that brain. She probably was barely thinking about Blue, let alone the tiger! Expecting Beyonce to have working brain that thinks of ANYTHING besides Beyonce, that’s NEVER going to happen. We are talking about a HUGE, narcistic ego. That tiger will probably end up being made into her next costume LOL.
She is just so spectacularly beautiful. That’s all I’ve got.
+1. And an intelligent, successful businesswoman to boot, no matter how much some try to rip her down.
I don’t like Beyonce at all but good grief!! She didn’t do anything wrong! If someone would let me pet a tiger cub, I’d do it, no question. The crazies need to go back into hiding.
It seems a little generous to excuse this because the Carters take ‘interesting’ holidays. Just to give them credit for leaving the US and exploring other countries?
It’s outright bizarre to infer this has anything to do with Thai culture. These ‘sanctuaries’ have been set up for tourist entertainment only and have zero to do with Thai culture. Like an earlier commenter said, it’s like equating SeaWorld with American culture.
I’ve been to Thailand knowing nothing about these practices. When I was there we saw an elephant by the side of the road and stopped to look at her. She was chained up and her keeper was charging tourists for pictures. This beautiful animal had run mad from her chains and looked so distressed, I couldn’t spend a moment longer by that roadside hearing her cries. You don’t always need to research a topic to understand it’s wrong.