Actor Santhanam Posts Video of Him Petting a Tiger, Gets Backlash For 'Animal Cruelty'

Tamil actor Santhanam is facing backlash on Twitter after posting a video of him petting a tiger at what appears to be some kind of petting zoo on Christmas. People have accused him of promoting “animal cruelty” with the video, claiming that the tiger in the clip appears to have been sedated. The actor did not specify where the video was taken. In his caption written in Tamil, the actor asked his fans if they liked the video, along with hashtags “tiger love” and “travel diaries”.

In the video, Santhanam is seen grabbing the tiger’s tail and petting it, before an official pokes the animal in the head to wake it up. “The best to delete this tweet was immediately after posting it, educating yourself about how you shouldn’t pose with drugged animals, and show your bravery by trying this with a non-sedated tiger/wolf/hyena or even monkey. The second best time to delete this tweet is now,” a Twitter user wrote.

“What kind of irresponsible behaviour is this? Do you realise you are encouraging animal abuse? In which world is it okay to keep a wild animal like this and stun it to wake up?” asked another user. “More like tigerhate, sorry to say. Please take some time to understand what ‘responsible tourism‘ means so that you can enjoy your travels in a more responsible and sustainable manner,” wrote another.

Petting zoos have often been criticised by activists for animal abuse.

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