An intimate gender reveal party can be conducted with three people in the present; the doctor, parents, and a sealed envelope containing the most exciting news of the couple’s life. But then, you remember you are living in Dubai, and even fountains show more pomp than that. The land of the Burj Khalifa favors things done in a larger-than-life manner. So whether it is projecting an unborn baby’s gender reveal onto the Burj Khalifa or getting a majestic tiger to do the honors, it’s all justified. Speaking of tigers, a Dubai-based couple is facing flak for a gender-reveal stunt involving the wildest cat of them all. It didn’t take long for wildlife activists and animal lovers to condemn the action that reduced the dignified wild animal to a poor little purring kitty playing with balloons with the towering Burj Al Arab in the backdrop.
The beast is seen freely swaggering along a beach next to Dubai’s Burj Al Arab hotel in the viral video. With no chain or a leash insight, it approaches a bunch of balloons floating above the sand. The seemingly well-trained beast knew what was to be done and raised itself on its hind legs to pop the balloon, which spouted pink powder on being ruptured. Carlotta Cavallari first shared the video, who perhaps expected the bruhaha to follow along with a disclaimer at the bottom. “Tiger was not harmed, and plastic was disposed of. Relax everyone,” she wrote.
The video gained momentum and equal hostility after being shared by the ‘Lovin Dubai’ Instagram page. The post garnered many hateful and logical comments. They went like this, “This is beyond problematic on so many levels,” a user said. Another comment reads, “It’s utterly ridiculous.” One of the users also said, “Ridiculous. Wild animals shouldn’t be pets.” Dubai shares a deep-rooted love for the striped wild animal, and it wouldn’t be very shocking until a few years ago where pet tigers were roaming around the beach near Burj Al Arab.
Someone even spotted a lion inside a fancy car parked at a petrol station for fueling. Things changed for the better when a new Law on the Regulation of Ownership of Dangerous Animals got published in its official gazette. Hefty fines were imposed on people who dealt with and owned “all types of wild and domesticated but dangerous animals.” Only zoos, wildlife parks, circuses, breeding, and research centers are allowed to keep them. What was shocking for the rest of the world was probably pure nostalgia for many Dubai residents.
[Via – Dubai Lad]
