Justin Bieber Warned by Animal Services to Stop Posing with Exotic Big Cats

Image via Instagram

Justin Bieber’s animal obsession has been well-documented. His pet monkey made the news in 2013 when it was detained in Germany and his Instagram feed is littered with photos of puppies, self-made bear memes, and (my favorite) a dog dressed as a reindeer. Recently, he’s taken things to another level with a series of pictures taken with exotic animals—and Toronto Animal Services is not happy.

TAS told Bieber that they received complaints after he posed for photos with tigers and lion cubs backstage while visiting Toronto this spring. It’s illegal to have exotic cats in city limits and they gave a strong warning against similar behavior in future visits to the city, according to TMZ.

PETA spoke out as well. Stressing the fact that behind every cute photo of a celebrity with an exotic animal is likely a sad story of an animal getting captured and shipped around the world for amusement, they said, “We’re calling on Justin and his family never to use animals as selfie props or party entertainment again.”

“Nearly three weeks after posing with animals from an outfit whose owner is facing five counts of cruelty for mercilessly whipping a tiger, Justin Bieber is at it again,” they continued. “He apparently posed with the same baby lion who had been paraded at his father’s engagement party and torn away from his mother shortly after birth — putting his life at risk so that he could be exploited for photo ops with clueless celebrities. This is cruelty, not conservation, and it’s time for Bieber to say ‘Sorry’ for endorsing the sleazy exotic-animals trade.”

So, beyond putting him in the same unfortunate category as “Tinder Guys With Tigers,” Bieber’s seemingly innocent big cat obsession may be doing harm as well. He should be safe to continue taking photos of squirrels sitting in trees, though.

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