There are many beliefs about what goes on in tourist-tiger interactions. However, many of these beliefs are wrong.
This World Animal Day, we are releasing a short guide, ‘Scratch That: Debunking Tourist Tiger Myths,’ to clear up some of the more common myths and beliefs that surround tiger selfies and tourist-tiger interactions. Many of these myths or beliefs can have serious ramifications for captive tiger welfare as mistaken beliefs pull focus from the real issues at hand.
What are the problems?
With more than 2000 captive tigers in Thailand, a vast, and growing number of them are part of the tourism industry. These tigers are exploited for cub feeding, tiger selfies and tiger shows. But there are many misconceptions regarding these captive tiger interactions. From drugging and declawing through to mothers abandoning their cubs and the truth about white tigers, we debunk 12 of the more commonly held beliefs about captive tiger interactions.
How to change this?
Take a look at this informative guide, learn about the welfare implications regarding the truth about these myths and find out some important questions you can ask when visiting a facility that holds tigers. Armed with this guide, we hope to help you make better informed decisions about which tiger facilities to visit. While specific to Thailand, much of this applies to tiger venues throughout the rest of the world as well.
Read our guide right here.
