TAYLA SUDALL
Dating app, Tinder have called for all of their users to remove any ‘tiger selfies’ from their profiles.
Tinder is a location-based online dating app that allows users to view photos and brief profile descriptions of other users and then swipe “yes” or “no” to having contact with that user.
In a stand against animal cruelty, Tinder posted to their blog, ‘It’s time for the tiger selfies to go. More often than not, these photos take advantage of beautiful creatures that have been torn from their natural environment’.
The decision was made after PETA Australia wrote an open letter to Tinder founder, Sean Rad urging him to ‘take the tiger stripes out of swipes’.
‘Not only are these types of photos cruel to animals, unaware Tinderlings might also mistake them for cute, harmless pictures and be prompted to take part in this abusive industry themselves,’ PETA Australia wrote on their blog.
Head of Wildlife Campaigns at World Animal Protection, Cassandra Koenen said the crackdown is a step in the right direction to help protect wild animals used for tourist entertainment.
“We are starting to see a real shift in the public’s attitude as they become more aware that many of these wild animals are taken from their mothers as babies, forced to endure cruel and intensive training to make them ‘safe’ to interact with tourists,” Ms Koenen said.
Ms Koenen believes it’s important for tourists to remember while they are on holiday that the once in a lifetime photo opportunity with a wild animal could then in turn mean a lifetime of misery for that animal.
The motion to remove tiger selfies and any other similar images such as photos with elephants, monkeys or other exotic wild animals could see people becoming more educated on the topic and developing a real understanding of the torture and cruelty these animals have to face so that we can give them a hug and take a photo.
