Boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has unleased a firestorm with animal-rights activists after posting an Instagram pic of himself and his early Christmas present: “a rare and exotic tiger from India.”;
In the post, Mayweather adds: “Any suggestions for a name for this two-month-old, female tiger?”;
A photo posted by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather) on Dec 3, 2015 at 2:24pm PST
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.jsThe People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were far from amused by the post, pointing out that tigers belong in their natural habitat, not a millionaire’s mansion.
“Mayweather can have anything he wants, and what he should want is an end to the wild-animal trade, not to be a facilitator of it,”; declares PETA in a statement. “Tigers do poorly as ‘pets’ – they belong in their native habitats, not in a cage in a celebrity’s home as a ‘show-off’ prop, 100 per cent certain to be discarded at a roadside zoo or a cheap circus or to meet some other tawdry end after they become too strong to handle and begin to show a will of their own.”;
PETA’s statement continues: “Wild animals kept as amusements never have a fighting chance at a natural life. Having been torn away from their mothers at a young age, many are violently beaten by trainers and all are deprived of what’s natural and important to them. PETA appeals to Floyd Mayweather to be a real champ for animals and allow his ‘Christmas present’ to be moved to a wildlife sanctuary.”
While Mayweather was roundly criticized on Instagram, let’s allow animal-loving model Chrissy Teigen to have the final hilarious word on the subject:
I’m okay with people having pet tigers because it increases their chances of being eaten by a tiger
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 4, 2015
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