Watch: Boy Takes Chained Tiger For A Walk And Then This Happened

It is always advisable to maintain a safe distance from animals, especially big cats. Contrary to this sentiment, a video is going viral that shows a young boy trying to walk a chained tiger. While the big cat appears calm, it unexpectedly snaps at the young boy who gets scared. Immediately a man with a stick steps in and threatens the tiger. The big cat flinches in response. This clip was posted on Instagram by the Lahore-based digital creator Nouman Hassan. It has gathered over 15 lakh likes since it was shared on December 28. Despite the likes, many people took to comments to reprimand those responsible for placing the young boy in such a precarious situation and keeping a wild animal as a pet.

A post shared by Nouman Hassan (@nouman.hassan1)

This is not the only video from Pakistan that shows a person with a domesticated big cat. A few weeks ago, a video of a lion cub sitting in the backseat of a car alongside a young man went viral on Instagram. The video was taken at a traffic stop in Pakistan by a wedding photographer. Upon inquiry, the person in the car said that the tiger cub was 8 months old and named Mufasa. This clip gathered over 2.6 lakh likes since it was posted on December 23. Many people took to the comments section to argue that wild animals should not be confined as pets.

A post shared by Umbreen Ibrahim Photography – Ambreen Razvi (@umbreenibrahimphotography)

In Pakistan, the wealthy people are known to keep big cats as a status symbol. According to World Animal Protection, viral videos that flaunt exotic animals as pets cause “Widespread miseducation about the suitability of wild animals as pets.” Such content is posed as harmless but it ends up creating “More demand for wildlife being bred, captured, and sold for the pet trade.”

For a long time now, animal rights activists have been advocating for a ban on keeping wild animals as pets because it is detrimental to the well-being of the animals and also poses risks to the pet owner.

Born Free USA, a non-profit that opposes the exploitation of wild animals in captivity, argues, “Individuals possessing exotic animals often attempt to change the nature of the animal rather than the nature of the care provided. Such tactics include confinement in small, barren enclosures, chaining, beating “into submission,” or even painful mutilations, such as declawing and tooth removal.”