bigcatawareness:

tigerskinsandotherthings:

nimwey:

This is true, but the number is frequently exaggerated by animal rights organizations, like PeTA and HSUS. They say 5000-10000, or even “10.000+!”
While in fact, according to the Feline Conservation Federation, the number is closer to 2.800. And that includes tigers in zoos and other facilities, not just “pets”. And 10.000 exotic cats in all of the US, that includes bobcats, servals, asian leopard cats and other small cats.
(Also there is a myth that there are thousands of tigers in Texas alone. This is false.)

Also, NO WAY the average pet tiger lives a horrible life like that. Just like your average pooch isn’t in the hands of an animal abuser or hoarder, or most zoos aren’t the hellholes the AR-people like to tell you, or most orcas/dolphins don’t live in Sealand of the Pacific-like conditions.

THIS is also a pet tiger:

(Granted, this is in South Africa. But they are “pet” tigers owned privately.)

Here are a couple of “poor, abused” pet big cats in Nevada.

And about the numbers - it’s tragic that wild tigers are now reduced to only about 2300 individuals, as it is with all declining species.

But the huge numbers in captivity is something awesome!
Imagine if there were none of these 2800 captive tigers in America, what then? Then there would be 2800 tigers less in the world, that might help their species in the future (as it is likely to go extinct in the wild in the next decade or so). Only scattered in zoos across the world.

All animal species we keep will unfortunately be abused by heartless people that shouldn’t own any animals. Dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, horses, parrots, lizards, livestock, as well as exotics (though parrots and reptiles are technically exotics too…), they all end up in unsuitable homes from time to time. Just as some zoos are bad, other are good.
We have laws in place to keep check of the welfare both zoos and owners, and punish/shut down the ones that won’t follow these laws.
(It’s either that, or the goal of PeTA and HSUS - all animals out of captivity and all human contact with animals ending permanently, something I think most of us don’t want.)

Don’t spread the lie that every exotic or wild animal “pet” is being abused in someone’s basement. Or that we have thousands of hungry, abused tigers that are just waiting to be unleashed onto an unsuspecting public and start eating civilians. Because it’s just not true.

Except none of the tigers in private hands will ever contribute anything to conservation. Pet breeders don’t care about the purity of different subspecies and so most of them are mixed (primarily a mix of Bengal and Siberian). This crossing of subspecies directly harms conservation. Tigers bred as pets are also often heavily inbred, especially when it comes to producing the more popular color morphs. Since their breeding goes directly against the standards set out by the AZA those tigers will never be suitable for conservation programs. So it would make zero difference if those tigers existed or not (if anything their existence damages conservation efforts.) 

Not to mention, those photos you posted all show highly unethical and problematic content. None of those animals are being properly cared for. For a start, no one should ever have direct one-on-one contact with adult big cats. Ever. It is not only extremely dangerous but it gives the false impression that big cats are safe to be around. And what happens when the tiger injures someone, even just through play? It gets euthanized as a dangerous animal. It’s not fair that the animal should have to pay the price for human stupidity. Tigers, lions and other big cats are also frequently defanged and declawed to make them safer to be around, both horrifically cruel practices. 

Secondly, pet tigers should never be in a house or around pets like dogs. It is asking for trouble and is in no way a suitable environment for these animals. Very, very few people can give these animals the appropriate environment that they need. 

bigcatawareness can probably give more insight into some of these photos and why they’re so problematic?  

^^^^ This covers a lot of what I would have said.

OP’s comments are grossly misinformed.  Congrats on posting a bunch of pictures of big cats being treated like housecats.  It is unethical, irresponsible, and yes, cruel. No private owner can give the necessary care to a big cat.  They can give the necessary diet, they can’t give the necessary space, and many don’t give the necessary vet care because it is too expensive or they simply can’t find a qualified exotic vet.  Private owners hugely susceptible to things life can throw at them(bankruptcy, foreclosure, family strife, health declines, etc), and rehoming a tiger isn’t as easy as rehoming a housecat.  Sanctuaries are overwhelmed with pleas for people to take the animals they can no longer afford to care for because they are not an accredited zoological facility that actually has the funds to care for an animal that can cost up to 15k a year to feed alone.  By owning a big cat, you are unnecessarily deciding to risk the lives of the cat you own, as well as that of everyone around you.  If you cat gets out?  Dead.  If your cat attacks you? Dead.  it is not your risk alone.  And it is unethical to decide that you have the right to risk any life but your own.  

There is absolutely no good achieved by keeping a big cat as a pet.  It doesn’t benefit the animal, and it doesn’t benefit conservation.  In fact, it harms conservation.  People see the above pictures and think “I can keep them safe in my house because the wild is scary!” They think if you bottle raise it, it wont kill you.  They think they can turn a lion into a housecat.

By the way, that picture of the lion is from a pro-ownership group called Rexano that breeds white tigers, declaws, and keeps big cats in their homes.  Congrats on helping me further my point by sharing a picture of a really cruel owner.  Have you seen how much a declawed big cat suffers?  I have.  Unbearable arthritis, diminished use of their paws, deformities, the list goes on.  It’s the worst thing you can do to a big cat short of ripping their teeth out.

The pictures of the tigers with the guy in South Africa show a situation where big cats are allowed to not only share a home with two people, but several small dogs whose lives are put at risk every day.  The tigers’ “enclosure” consists of astroturf on concrete.  You know how detrimental it is for a big cat to live on concrete rather than natural substrates?  They get elbow swellings and callouses, painful joints, etc.

Someone doesn’t have to be with PETA to think that owning a tiger as a pet is a really bad thing.  Saying that everyone who cares about these animal’s welfare HAS to be some PETA extremist is so petty I can’t even deal.  So get that dismissive, pro-abuse attitude out of here