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Tinder Tells Users To Remove All 'Tiger Selfies' Amid Pressure From PETA

Tinder Tells Users To Remove All 'Tiger Selfies' Amid Pressure From PETA

“Posing next to a king of the jungle doesn’t make you one.”

Michael Minay

Michael Minay

Having been in a relationship for quite some time, Tinder is a bit of an enigma to this writer, but one thing I have learnt is that profile photos taken with endangered apex predators are quite a common thing, and I kind of get it, especially for a bloke.

You're basically saying: "I'm hard as fuck because I'm not getting eaten by this massive cat," while at the same time displaying the fact that you have a thirst for adventure and have travelled to distant lands.

The problem is there's a reason that massive cat's not eating you - because it's probably been taken away from its natural habitat and is suffering from depression at being locked away in a cage all night only to be drugged and wheeled out for selfies with tourists during the day. No way for the king of the jungle to live, really, is it?

Well, animal rights group PETA certainly don't think so and as a result of the pressure from the organisation Tinder has banned tiger selfies from being used on the app.

"Posing next to a king of the jungle doesn't make you one," Tinder posted. "It's time for the tiger selfies to go. More often than not, these photos take advantage of beautiful creatures that have been torn from their natural environment.

"We are looking to you, as part of our Tinder community, to make a change. Take down your tiger photos, and we will make it worth your while by donating $10,000 to Project Cat in honor of International Tiger Day."

The move from the dating app came in the wake of an open letter from PETA to its owner.

A statement from the app company said: "While most of us are on Tinder to find a soulmate or a date, appearing on the app isn't fun for everyone.

"What might, at first swipe, look like a harmless picture actually means that someone was caged, dominated, and tied down or drugged before their photo was taken and uploaded online.

"If this happened to one of your users on a Tinder date, you'd block the profile of the person responsible immediately. Unfortunately, this is the reality for tigers, lions, and other big cats who are featured in an alarming number of Tinder profile photos."

It continued: "With International Tiger Day just around the corner, now is the perfect time to help protect pussies by banning the most selfish selfie of all."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Tiger, travel, Tinder