Forced selfies with wild animals are #cruel, not cute.
Tigers, elephants, bears, and other wild animals are not props – but that’s how they’re treated at zoos and attractions that let tourists take pictures with them. The tragic truth is that behind the scenes of every forced “selfie” with a wild animal is a lifetime of misery, abuse, and pain.
Pledge today to never participate in a forced selfie with a wild animal!
Animals used in forced selfies with tourists may develop wounds or scars from a lifetime in chains.
Jabbed with bullhooks and chained to concrete slabs, many elephants in captivity suffer severe psychological pain as well as wounds. They are coerced into unnatural activities. Elephants exploited for selfies are denied their instinctual need to run for miles with their companions.
Whipped, stabbed with sharp sticks, and confined to concrete cages — instead of roaming miles of their habitat in the wild — tigers suffer when they are exploited for selfies. They are often subjected to painful “training” to make them compliant for unwanted handling. Infant tigers suffer the loss of their mothers so they may be touched by tourists.
Orangutans, bears, and countless other wild animals experience similar pain when they are used like props for selfies, as highlighted in a new report from Lady Freethinker.
Read the report:
These forced selfies also send troubling messages to children who are brought to these facilities. They may leave thinking that animals feel less than people or that they don’t deserve to be wild.
Posting selfies with wild animals on social media also contributes to the demand for wild animal selfies – and the global trafficking and suffering of wild animals.
This cruelty will continue unless we speak out against it.
Will you take the pledge?
