WashijaSocial Media Posts
Almost every teenager present at the prom that night uploaded a picture or video clip to his/her social media profile. Be it Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, the prom night at Christopher Columbus High School was posted on every social media channel. And slowly it became the talk of the town.
Reaching The Local News
The social media posts began to circulate beyond the school community, among friends, family, relatives, etc. Soon enough it caught the attention of the local news, who posted about it on their website and also published various newspaper articles. That is when things went out of hands for the school really fast.
The Protests
Christopher Columbus High School woke up to an angry group of protesters outside its gate the next morning. The group was protesting for the cruelty of caging a tiger and putting him in an uncomfortable environment, surrounded by people who were cheering and clicking his pictures.
Social Media Backlash
Not only that, there was a backlash on social media channels as well. People were tweeting, and commenting about how this act was plain stupid on the school’s part. Tigers are not supposed to be in captivity anyway and to put him in a cage surrounded by a huge crowd of teenagers was inhumane.
PETA’s Statement
The clips also reached PETA who expressed their outrage about the situation by putting out a statement that said, “Wild animals aren’t prom decorations. Displaying a tiger in a tiny cage and allowing students to handle lemurs is cruel to the animals and dangerous for the students, and it sends the harmful message that living beings are props to be used for human amusement.”
Not Illegal
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission declared that they are looking into the situation to see if any violation of Florida’s “captive of wildlife” rules took place that night. However, if all rules and regulations were followed, then they can’t take any action against the school as the exhibition of wildlife at public events is not prohibited by Florida law.