Tiger King? Yeah, Right!
Should A Tiger Live Its Life In A Cage?
If you’re like most of us, you’ve spent most of the last month inside. And, let’s face it, we’re all getting Cabin Fever. So imagine being the world’s largest apex predator and spending your life in a 12 x 15 cage. The reason you’ve been pulled away from the Saharan Plains, shoved in a cage, and whisked across the ocean? So that sweaty tourists can stare at you while them while they wait for a guy with a zapper to come by and lob a hunk of meat into their cages. Sometimes when a tiger attacks its trainer, people ask “Why?”. I usually ask “Why not?”. Or, more accurately, why doesn’t it happen more often?
The Netflix true-crime documentary tends to leave folks debating the guilt or innocence of its main subjects. The film makers tend to gloss over the subject of animal cruelty. The thing the really stuck with me was this one fact: There are currently more tigers in captivity than there are in the wild. How can that be true
Tigers are bought and kept in nightclubs, apartments, truck stops, the homes of boxers, singers and strippers. In some states it’s easier to adopt a tiger than it is to buy a dog. Think about that. The average male tiger is about 12 feet long and weighs about 650 lbs. when fully grown. And some actor wants to keep one in their back yard as a pet to impress their friends? Please!
So forgive me if I seem calloused. And, by all means, watch the Netflix documentary. But keep in mind, when they talk about the tigers attacking their “trainers” I won’t shed a tear. What did they think was going to happen? After all. everyone gets a little irritable when they’re kept inside for too long.
