Hello there! I want to encourage you to not participate in cub petting schemes as they are very detrimental to the tiger species as a whole. Pay-to-play schemes are extremely exploitative and cruel, so please don’t spend your money to contribute to this terrible industry. The pay-to-play industry does nothing for conservation (even if the keepers told you it does…they’re lying to you), it actually does the exact opposite: contribute to the extinction of tigers.
Please, allow me to explain: you see, as the need for more cubs for these schemes grows, the more mothers are forcibly bred (so much breeding can lead to cancer, and, evidently, death). The people who breed the mothers take the cubs away at dangerously early ages (a few weeks old). This leads to death or illness for many cubs because they don’t have the immune system to deal with germs from the public. Those cubs that are lucky (kind of) enough to survive all of that are then taken from the facilities that allow cub petting because they are too big and dangerous to be constantly groped by the public. The cubs are then sold to rundown, roadside zoos, people to be kept in small cages in backyards, canned hunting facilities, etc. Basically, the life of a tiger in the pay-to-play industry, whether it be a mother, father, or cub, is really shitty.
That little green fence and ugly grey carpet looks familiar…Wildlife In Need am I correct? The people who profit from these schemes don’t care about healthy bloodlines, they just want as many cubs as possible because more cubs = more $$$$$. This leads to inbred cubs. I understand that Wildlife In Need breeds for color morphs such as the white tiger and golden tabby tiger. Tigers with these color morphs are inbred and suffer from many health problems; they do not live happy lives. Since most (if not all tbh) cubs in the industry are inbred (and/or are “mutts” between different subspecies), they can’t even be used for conservation purposes that tigers so desperately need.
Please don’t think this is a personal attack aimed towards you; I am simply trying to spread awareness about a HUGE issue that goes on all over the world.
Here have some resources: x|x|x|x|x… there are so many more, but it would take forever to list them all. If you need more I have a tag dedicated to this wonderful practice of cub petting. If you have any questions, there are plenty of blogs that can answer them for you (including me), so don’t be afraid to ask for them if you want.
Remember, no responsible facility allows unprotected contact between its dangerous/wild animals and the general public.
Reblogging the one with INFORMATION too. Take notes everyone.