Quavo introduced the exotic animal on his Instagram on Thursday and fans — and fellow celebrities — were very upset
In a move reminiscent of Mike Tyson‘s infamous pet purchase, rapper Quavo claims he just bought a tiger.
Late Thursday, Quavo, one-third of hip-hop group Migos — which also includes Takeoff and Cardi B’s husband Offset — posted a video on Instagram with the caption “J U S B O U G H T A T I G E R His Name Is C H O.”
In the clip, Quavo, bathed in purple light and covered in glittering diamonds, tells the camera, “I just bought a tiger today,” before introducing the tiger’s alleged handler and then panning to the tiger itself.
The big cat is shown sitting on a white backdrop with a chain around its neck. TheShadeRoom posted the video to their own Instagram page, where Quavo’s girlfriend commented: “our new baby?”
There is no confirmation outside of Quavo’s video proving that the rapper actually bought the tiger, but that hasn’t stopped fans from reacting in outrage.
Comments on Quavo’s post introducing the animal are mostly negative, with many pointing out that wild animals are not meant to be kept as pets and calling the rapper cruel and reckless for wanting to own a tiger.
Comedian Whitney Cummings was one of many commenters to reprimand the rapper for his reported purchase.
“This is not cool. It’s reckless to promote and glamorize this. You don’t need a tiger as a pet. Privately owned exotics end up in cages or in sanctuaries where other people have to care for them. Please stop. Happy to provide you information on why this was an irresponsible and poor decision,” she wrote in response to the post.
Lions, Tiger and Bears, a big cat and exotic animal sanctuary in San Diego, California, also commented on why owning an exotic pet is often cruel and inhumane. The non-profit has first hand experience with celebrity exotic pet ownership gone wrong. The sanctuary took in and is caring for Tyga’s illegally owned pet tiger that he surrendered to animal control in 2016, reports TMZ.
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“Tigers don’t belong in backyards, basements, or music studios. Private ownership puts people at risk and exposes captive wild animals to horrific cruelty. Glorifying private ownership of tigers is bad for everyone. Please do the right thing for this tiger and seek help from an accredited sanctuary. Come visit us and learn more about the devastating exotic animal trade. This is one more reason we all need to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act, HR 1380 to end private ownership of big cats like tigers,” the sanctuary wrote on Quavo’s post.
According to the Animal Welfare Institute, the Big Cat Public Safety Act is a proposed amendment to Captive Wildlife Safety Act which would “prohibit breeding and future possession of lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, jaguars, cougars, or any hybrid of these species in the exotic pet trade.”
If Quavo did indeed buy the tiger in his post, he wouldn’t be the first celebrity to try owning an exotic pet. Justin Bieber had his pet Capuchin monkey confiscated by German custom officials in 2013. The monkey now lives at Germany’s Serengeti Wildlife Park.