They say a picture’s worth a thousand words.
We don’t know if that’s true, but this photo of Justin Bieber chillin’ with a tiger is worth at least one WTF?! and two clear observations:
- Justin finally cut his dreadlocks, so the world can now get back to making fun of everything else about him.
- That tiger doesn’t look too thrilled to be there.
Not surprisingly, PETA is focusing on the latter aspect of the pic, which was posted to Bieber’s Instagram page over the weekend.
Apparently, the tiger was one of the attractions at an engagement party for Bieber’s father, because if there are no jungle beasts, how will people know you’re serious about getting hitched?
Anyway, as you probably know, PETA is not big on wildlife being held captive for the amusement of rich D-bags, and they’ve taken to social media to express their thoughts on the Bieber Boys’ fondness for using endangered species as status symbols:
“Justin Bieber is lucky not to have had his throat torn out by this stressed captive tiger,” wrote PETA representative Lisa Lange in a statement posted online today.
“We know he (Bieber) is drawn to animals, but this is the very worst way to recognize this interest because exotic animals are usually torn away from their mothers prematurely, beaten into submission by trainers, are often doped up to be docile, and are deprived of everything that’s natural and important to them.”
Apparently the situation is particularly egregious as it’s believed that the tiger is owned by Michael Hackenbeger, a trainer for Hollywood movies, who is currently under investigation for animal cruelty.
“The tiger who appeared at the Bieber party is identical to Robbie, a Bowmanville Zoo tiger we know is used for encounters with the public and was used in The Interview,” reps claim, adding that Robbie is thought to be one of the animals Hackenberger abused.
The organization says it also sent a letter to Bieber’s manager, Scooter Braun, encouraging the pop idol to set a better example for his fans:
“To people with huge influence like Justin Bieber, our message is simple: tigers are wild animals, not entertainers,” PETA says.
“People posing with wildlife don’t realize that a ‘once in a lifetime’ photo for them means a lifetime of misery for the animal,” the group said in a statement.”
Sadly, this is not the first time Justin’s treatment of animals has been criticized.
In 2013 Bieber adopted a pet monkey, which he was forced to turn over to German authorities when he attempted to take it on tour.
