Woman Takes Selfie While Holding a Drugged Tiger’s Testicles at Thai Zoo

Posted on by PETA

A now-viral selfie taken by a woman holding a drugged tiger’s testicles at a zoo in Thailand is just an extra-twisted example showing that using animals for photo ops is wrong.

The tiger—apparently a prisoner at Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai—may have been drugged during the harassment, according to reports, which would explain why the big cat (an animal who would typically react aggressively if threatened) appears suspiciously unfazed in the photograph. The woman was permitted to fondle the tiger’s testicles and take a selfie by Tiger Kingdom staff, who apparently defended their actions by claiming that they had warned the woman of the risks before letting her enter the tiger’s cage.

They exist in a living hell, one in which they experience constant stress, anxiety, and agitation.

What about the tiger in the viral photo? He never got the chance to dissent.

According to Vice, the woman posted the photo to social media and implied that she’d squeezed the tiger’s testicles, too. “Pray in your heart and squeeze hard then you will be free from suffering,” her caption reportedly read.

No tiger wants to be touched anywhere on their body by humans, and it’s true that many captive big cats are drugged or beaten into submission and chained so that tourists can take a cheap photo or touch them. Millions learned by watching Tiger King just how victimized tigers used for tourism are, and many took to Twitter to express their outrage and speak out against the “humiliation” that this particular tiger was forced to endure:

And it’s true—we didn’t need this selfie-taking, testicle-grabbing tourist to remind us that tourist traps like this one in Thailand, animals always suffer.

Posing with wild animals is the same as condemning them to a lifetime of confinement and suffering.

As long as tickets continue to be sold, animals will continue to be trafficked, traded, and tortured. Please, never visit any place that profits from live animals, and urge friends and family to leave cruel tourist traps off their vacation itineraries.

Remember: Animals are not ours to use for entertainment, nor are they photo props for selfies or a few “likes”. If there’s any risk that your vacation experience is going to hurt or cause stress to an animal, it’s not worth it.

See How PETA's Helping Animals in Thailand


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