Cub Petting Leads to Big Cat Abuse

Do you love cats? Do you also love those cute little cubs that are part of the lion and tiger family? If you enjoy selfies, cuddling and cub petting with your favorite cute little cub, read more and learn about this seemingly-harmless popular pastime.

Selfies
Adorable tiger cubs beckon to those who love to take selfies. But did you know that those cubs were taken from their mothers at birth? Some early treatment of these cub petting animals include:

• Deprivation of mother’s milk
  
• Loss of natural antibodies in natural milk from their mothers
  
• Sleep is repeated disturbed for photo ops and petting
  
• Immune system disturbed from the lack of sleep
  

That cute little animal has entered the first stage of abuse in its life by being in your selfie. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) recently did a disturbing investigation of pay-to-play facilities, where people pay to pose or play with exotic animals. You can read more about what the undercover investigators found in Oklahoma.

When the Abuse Begins
The real abuse begins when these animals are too old for petting. Cubs can only be used for about 12 weeks, before they could dangerously bite. With a fragile immune system, some die, while others are put in tiny bare cages. Often they are used for breeding and are then bred again soon after giving birth. After they are too old to breed, they may be killed for their body parts, which bring lucrative money on the black market.

Cub Petting Hurts Conservation
It does not have any conservation value and is misleading to people who pet these animals. Petting of cubs does the following:

• Sends the wrong message that leads to people believing these small cages are “conservation”
  
• We oppose “tiger farming” in Asia that leads to poaching; yet the lack of U.S. tracking of tigers in captivity diminishes our credibility
  

Sanctuaries
Protecting tiger cubs is very important; some do end up in sanctuaries such as Big Cat Rescue in Florida or The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota.

Big Cat Rescue has a mission of educating people about the petting of cubs as well as providing the best homes for these animals that are in their care. They want to end the abusing of big cats in captivity and the extinction of big cats in the wild.

If you would like to volunteer or to donate, visit their website. You can help with the saving of these innocent animals from a life of captivity. Learn more about the organization and how you can help in the fight to save these beautiful cats.