Tamil actor Santhanam is making waves on the internet after he shared a video with Tiger from his vacation. While everything appears normal in the footage, what drew the public's attention was the tiger's apparent sedation. The actor did not disclose the location of the video. When he shared the video, a flood of comments followed, criticising him of being a negative influence on society and expressing concerns about animal cruelty.
The viral video shows Santhanam grabbing the big cat’s tail and petting it. The clip further shows an official poking the animal in the head with a stick to wake it up. The actor is seen enjoying the moment.
Netizens flocked to the comment section to react to it. One user wrote, "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."
Another 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?"
A third user commented, "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." A user also wrote, "Seriously what is wrong with people. I'd dearly love to see this guy's courage and tiger love in front of an unsedated tiger."
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The video garnered 167k views on the micro-blogging site. While activists have often criticised petting zoos for animal abuse, the practise of sedating animals for entertainment and leisure purposes does not seem to be reducing, and it represents the sad reality of society.
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