Amid Tiger King craze, PETA urges 'human-supremacist' celebrities to drop exotic animals

The cultural craze surrounding “Tiger King,” the bizarre Netflix true-crime documentary that focuses on a group of Americans who raise tigers and lions, has inspired one animal rights group to call for an end to celebrity handling of exotic animal species. 

“Tiger King,” which premiered on Netflix last month and has become a strange sort of national diversion for Americans cooped up at home during the coronavirus pandemic, focuses on the bizarre and sometimes unseemly lives of several people who have set up flamboyant zoos in remote American locations to display their rare and exotic pets. 

The show focuses on bitter rivalries, murder allegations, failed political careers and other strange esoterica. Yet the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — a group long known for its opinions on animal rights, such as a 100 percent vegan lifestyle and an end to domestic beekeeping — is apparently seizing on the moment to push its pro-animal agenda even further.



On its website on Friday, the group announced that it is urging multiple celebrities to abandon “the human-supremacist worldview that other animals are disposable.” It said it has reached out to a variety of entertainment figures such as P. Diddy, Shakira, Britney Spears and numerous others in the hope of convincing them to “pledge never to perform with wild animals again.”