Netflix’s “Tiger King” Exploits Wild Animals for Entertainment
Here’s how to channel your rage into positive change.
Photos: Courtesy of Netflix
Amid quarantine and social distancing, Netflix’s docu-series Tiger King is trending across the country. The show has made headlines and spurned countless memes thanks to its wacky characters, insane plot twists and glimpse into the mysterious lifestyles of exotic pet owners. For many viewers, however, the true crime story carries a darker, underlying message: wild animals like big cats should not be exploited for entertainment. Unbeknownst to many of us until the show’s premiere, there is a thriving demand for exotic animals as pets in the United States. The unfortunate reality is that this is a dangerous and cruel problem that our nation has avoided fixing for far too long.
In the exotic pet trade, people will spend a couple thousand dollars on a tiger or lion cub because they think it’s adorable. But in a few short months, the animal quickly becomes capable of killing its owner within the blink of an eye. Often the product of inbreeding, these exotic pets then face any number of terrible fates: chained up in a basement, shot and killed in a backyard, or sold off to disreputable institutions like those owned by Tiger King stars Joe “Exotic” Maldonado-Passage or Mahamayavi Bhagavan “Doc” Antle.
What Tiger King doesn’t show us are the hundreds of dinky roadside attractions in America that house big cats, along with a plethora of other wild animals, in cramped dirty cages. According to the Humane Society, of the 5,000 to 7,000 captive tigers in the U.S., less than 400 of them are at facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Growing up, I lived not 15 minutes from one of these “zoos” that eventually burned down, killing some of its animal residents. Even as a child I felt uneasy when visiting the establishment, understanding even then that keeping animals in tiny cages, especially for our own entertainment, is wrong.
That’s not to say all zoos are bad; this is not that discussion. There’s a big difference between a zoo with a scientifically-designed enclosure that mimics a big cat’s natural habitat, at least to some degree, and the animal parks that litter highways of mid-America that keep big cats in fenced cages. This is especially true considering the actual connection many zoos have to conservation programs, unlike the twisted logic that backyard breeders use to justify their actions. Whatever your feelings on zoos in general, we should at least agree that treatment of big cats we've seen for years across America and now spotlighted in Tiger King is wrong.
Big cats are dangerous but sentient animals who suffer in private captive environments that are often unsafe and inhumane. Anyone who has managed to sit through even half of the seven-episode series is probably experiencing the same sickening feeling I felt when I watched the self-proclaimed “Tiger King” use a metal stick to pull a freshly born tiger cub away from its mother, only to throw it into a box and complain that it was crying too much. It shouldn’t take a biology degree for the average person to empathize with these animals. It is clear to anyone who sees what’s going on at these institutions that there is absolutely no excuse for this abuse.
These creatures even sometimes end up killing or injuring people when they are let loose or escape as we’ve seen over hundreds of times in the last few decades. In 2011, the owner of a “private zoo” in Zanesville, Ohio released over 50 wild animals, including tigers, lions, and pumas, before killing himself. While thankfully no human was harmed, almost all of the animals had to be killed for public safety. This senseless tragedy could have been avoided if a private citizen — with no attachment to an accredited institution — wasn’t allowed to own exotic wildlife in the first place. Any reputable sanctuary owner should tell you that they long for the day when they no longer need to run a rescue because there are no more battered big cats that need rescuing.
That can become our reality through the Big Cat Safety Act (H.R.1380/S.2561). The Big Cat Safety Act is an essential piece of legislation meant to close dangerous loopholes that allow private citizens and exploitative centers like Tiger King’s Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park or Myrtle Beach Safari masquerading as zoos to own big cats and other wildlife. The Act was introduced into the House in 2019 and we can help it become law by speaking up about this issue and contacting your representatives. The success of Blackfish in prompting protections for captive whales proves that we can turn our outrage into positive change for big cats, too.
It’s up to society to use the momentum behind this docu-series to make real change. Now is the time to push for policy adjustments that prevent this kind of irresponsibility. During this time of global pandemic, everyone is doing a little soul-searching. It’s high time we as a society think about how we use — and abuse — wildlife. Banning further treatment of big cats like that seen in this shocking documentary is a critical step towards this enlightenment. it’s time for us all to band together to tackle the seedy underground of animal hoarding that Tiger King has only begun to expose.
***Disclaimer: The views in this piece do not represent those of anyone other than the author herself, including anyone affiliated with The Rational or other organizations affiliated with the author.
