Beyoncé and Jay-Z have come under attack after a photo of them and their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter playing with a baby tiger while on vacation in Phuket, Thailand.

Beyoncé Under Fire For Baby Tiger Pic

The photo was posted to a Beyoncé fan Instagram profile ‘Beylite’ on Jan. 2, and quickly got the attention of various Animal Rights groups. The photo was not posted on Beyoncé’s official Instagram account, though she did share a few photos from their vacation in Asia.

 

In the photo, Beyoncé and Jay Z sit with their daughter, watching someone feed a baby tiger with a bottle, Beyoncé is petting the little animal. The photo was taken at Phuket FantaSea, a popular theme park in Phuket. The theme park shared a different photo of the famous couple visiting the park on their official Facebook page. In the caption, Phuket FantaSea writes that the duo “spent marvelous time with the animal cast of the show at the Palace of the Elephants Theater.”

The photo upset many, including the World Animal Protection, which issued a statement condemning Beyoncé and Jay Z for visiting the park.

“A tiger is not a plaything. Their health and well-being should not be sacrificed for a photo opportunity. When you look behind the scenes, vacation snaps like these support an industry that relies on animal cruelty… this sordid side of tourism is conveniently hidden from public view,” Dr. Jan Schmidt-Burbach of World Animal Protection told Billboard.

Another statement from World Animal Protection was a bit more forgiving of the famous couple: “Tourists like Beyoncé are often unaware of the cruelty tigers suffer for these tourist attractions. The tigers used for these photos are often forcibly removed from their mothers to be fed artificially by tourists. They are also crammed into tiny cages or chained to the floor for long periods.”

PETA weighed in with a statement of their own, writing, “We’re sure that the Carters, like many unsuspecting tourists, would be horrified to learn that baby elephants and tigers propped up for photo ops are typically torn away from their mothers, violently beaten by trainers and deprived of everything natural and important to them,” said PETA’s Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders.

Winders also warned that the mistreatment of animals is a world-wide problem, adding, “PETA encourages all caring people to enjoy nature with their families in ways that leave captive animals out of the picture.”

Neither Beyoncé nor Jay Z have responded to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Blue Ivy celebrated her third birthday on Wednesday, Jan. 7.