Beyonce and Jay-Z blasted by wildlife expert for treating baby tiger as 'plaything'

A wildlife expert has criticised Beyoncé and Jay-Z after a picture surfaced showing them petting a baby tiger
Blasted: Beyonce and Jay-Z have faced criticism from a wildlife expert (Picture: beylite)
Emma Powell6 January 2015
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been criticised by a wildlife expert after a photo was released showing the pair and their daughter Blue-Ivy petting a baby tiger while holidaying in Thailand.

The picture surfaced four days ago on ‘Beylite’ - a fan site for the Crazy in Love singer – alongside the caption: “Beyoncé, Jay Z & Blue #Thailand.”

Criticised: Beyonce and Jay-Z have been blasted by a wildlife expert after this picture surfaced online (Picture: Beylite)

Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach, a wildlife expert for animal welfare charity World Animal Protection said: "A tiger is not a plaything. Their health and well-being should not be sacrificed for a photo opportunity. When you look behind the scenes, holiday snaps like these support an industry that relies on animal cruelty.

"Many tourists unwittingly contribute to the suffering of wild animals like these. They're simply not aware that their 'once in a lifetime' photo means a lifetime of misery for that animal.

Showbiz Review of 2014

1/4

"The tigers used for these photos are often crammed into tiny cages or chained to the floor for long periods. They are also forcibly removed from their mothers to be fed artificially by tourists. All in all a far cry from their natural lives in the wild. But this sordid side of tourism is conveniently hidden from public view."

The pair – who have yet to respond to the statement – have been keeping fans up-to-date with their travels in Cambodia and Thailand.

They dropped by the FantaSea performance in Phuket, Thailand and were spotted exploring Cambodia's Buddhist temple, Angkor Wat.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in