The Tiniest Tiger

The Tiniest Tiger’s Super Serious Subject

Big Cats

Friends, this is Shere Khan, one of the recently rescued tigers from a greedy breeder by Tiger Haven

Friends, what I want to tell you is super serious. I hope that you will give me just a couple of minutes to talk to you about our big cat cousins. Last weekend something happened at the Autumn on the River Festival in Bethlehem, Indiana. Tiger cubs, only 10 weeks old were on display to the public and made to pose for photographs. The weekend prior these poor cubs were photographed with more than 700 people.

Now, some of you might be thinking, Gracey, that doesn’t sound super serious, but when you take a closer look you will see how serious and sad this type of activity is for our cousins.


The cubs came from the non-profit Wildlife in Need, Wildlife in Deed Sanctuary. The problem with this sanctuary is that they are breeding the tigers adding to the already burgeoning captive tiger population. The owner claims that he is helping save the tiger, but Friends, this simply is not true. This type of breeding does not help any of the remaining subspecies of tiger. This type of breeding is not part of the Species Survival Plan.  He is not taking into account genetic diversity or genetic drift; he is only worried about how much money he can get from photo ops with the cubs.


These cubs can only interact with the public until they are four months old. Then the cubs can no longer earn money but begin to cost money. We cats can eat a lot too! These little ones are exploited for their first four months, and then who worries about feeding them for the remaining 15-20 years of their lives?

This man says he finds good “homes” when he can’t take care of the new tigers born at his facility. But isn’t that spooky? What kind of home?


Tiger Haven is a Safe Place for Big Cats. This summer was extraordinarily difficult for Tiger Haven because they were asked to rescue 40 gruesomely mistreated big cats, including 6 pregnant females from a breeder in Arkansas.


This greedy breeder existed to make money. He was selling tiny cubs to photographers, game ranches, yes for canned hunting, and to naive people that planned to keep the tigers as “pets” in their basement.


No sooner than Tiger Haven was able to build new enclosures for the recent rescues, 17 cubs were born making the desperate rescue of 40 big cats the even more urgent rescue of 57. Our big, hungry, and innocent cousins deserve safe and peaceful lives.


Friends, I am asking you to sign this petition to tell Let Mounds Mall in Indiana know that hosting this baby tiger/lion display next week should be canceled.
Click Here to Sign Petition
I also urge you to boycott and speak out against any event that allows for the exploitation of cubs. What seems like an innocent photograph, is actually encouraging the continued abuse of our big cat cousins.  You see, super serious.

Our The Tiniest Tiger’s Conservation Cub Club Chip-In is to help buy food for Tiger Haven. Every $1.00 buys 2 lbs. of food for one of our big cat cousins. Small paws united to make a big difference. Every $1 helps. You don’t have to give big to make a big difference. Thank you everyone for being my Friend.

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This post originally appeared on The Tiniest Tiger’s Conservation Cub Club and is the sole property of The Tiniest Tiger, LLC.

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Comments

  3. Dee says

    Thanks so much for this important post about the abuse and exploitation of these tiger cubs. Exploiting tiger cubs in photo opportunities and allowing the public to interact with them is not educational, but dangerous and misleading. The real life horrors these cats face once they shed their ”cuteness” and turn into 300 to 500 lb. predators are years of captive life in roadside zoos/exhibits, and pseudo-sanctuaries. Others are bred to produce more cubs, end up in canned hunts, or are killed and sold on the black market. Do not contribute to this abuse by patronizing an event such as this. Once again Gracey, thanks for being a strong voice for the big cats.

  7. Roberta says

    Gracey, I have signed and emailed the petition. Unfortunately, I am unable to contribute money for the cause, but I do support your efforts.

    • Gracey says

      Never worry Roberta! Your support helps just as much. Thank you for being a part of The Tiniest Tiger’s community.
      xoxoxo

  8. Lisa Kyriacos says

    I have spoken out about this before…thanx for bringing this specific individual to our attention. Many years ago I took a picture w/a lion cub in the MGM Casino in LV when one of their lions had cubs. Thankfully these cubs were protected & cared for by the MGM Casino in their facility offsite (they rotate the lions on display in the casino) & I sw them all grown there just a year ago. Private photographers doing this should be brought up on charges of animal abuse!

    • Gracey says

      Lisa,
      Thank you. It seems so innocent on the surface, that many people do not realize how harmful this type of exploitation can be.

  9. Trish says

    This just makes me sick! I read about it yesterday from a FB link – and signed the petition right away and told friends about it too!!

  11. harry and heidi says

    i tried to sign the petition Gracey, but it kept telling me to select at least one recipient, even though they were all selected.. dont know what was going wrong.. sorry

  14. Judy Simon says

    Thank you so much for posting this! It just turned my stomach! I knew you would want to know! I will chip in on payday. Lil rough right now. Thank you Gracey! (& Joanne!)