An alarming video of a white tiger being walked around a garden on a chain in the Mexican resort of Puerto Vallarta has gone viral on TikTok.
The video, posted by Micha and Justina under the name @beerforbreakfastshorts, has more than 750,000 views. The couple, who say they travel the world full-time, told how "the dog just started barking and [we] went to look outside to see what it was". The video then pans to a tiger walking around a garden with a pool.
In a follow-up video, the tiger can be seen surrounded by a group of men, while one man "plays" with it, putting his arm in its mouth and letting it climb up him. Micha or Justina can be heard saying, "this is insane" as they film the scene.
One user commented, "yeah that poor tiger probably has its teeth pulled for exhibition."
An article from the Mexico Daily Post dated February 7, 2021, reports that a white tiger was spotted cruising the streets of Puerto Vallarta in an SUV. The tiger cub was "tied with some kind of pet leash," it added. It has not been confirmed whether it is the same tiger as in the TikTok video.
@beerforbreakfastshorts There’s a f*cking tiger! 🐅 #tiger #pet #eyespy #icantcope #mexico #puertovallarta
♬ original sound - Micha & Justina
According to the World Wildlife Fund, "there are estimated to be over 8,000 tigers in captive tiger facilities across China, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam and over 5,000 in the U.S., with most providing absolutely no conservation benefit to the world's remaining 3,900 wild tigers. Oftentimes, facilities keeping captive tigers promote misinformation about their benefit to conservation, misleading the public to further the facilities' profits brought in by visitors."
The WWF reports that contrary to popular belief, white tigers are not a rare or separate subspecies of tiger. Their unusual color is down to a genetic mutation called leucism, and it argues that the white coat would actually be a hindrance in the wild as it doesn't provide any camouflage.
Often bred in captivity by breeding two tigers who have the recessive genes, these tigers are often related, making issues with inbreeding common, as in the U.S, all tigers originate from a single male white continental tiger, which was imported to the country decades ago.
User QtPie1996 Nah said, "homie. If I can't have a German Shepard you can't have a tiger sir."
User siobhan_watson wrote, "I don't understand....how is that not illegal."
User alexzanderjerry commented, "beautiful animal. it's much better off being a pet than being trophy hunted in its natural habitat."
Newsweek reached out to u/@beerforbreakfastshorts for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Leonie Helm is a Newsweek Life Reporter and is based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on all things ... Read more
