Florida high school sparks uproar after hiring caged tiger for prom

Lucia Binding15 May 2018

A school has sparked uproar after it "shamefully" hired a caged tiger to entertain students at prom.

Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Florida, hosted the jungle-themed event at a Hilton hotel on Friday night.

The big cat was brought in "for entertainment" with a large collection of exotic animals including a lemur, two macaws and an African fennec fox.

Thousands of people have expressed their concern for the tiger’s welfare on social media after a clip of the bizarre scene was shared online.

The school principal of the private Catholic school has apologised for causing offence, stating he has learned from the experience.

She wrote: "How shameful for Christopher Columbus High school showing its students on prom night who is the 'king of the jungle'.

"This poor tiger was used as an exotic amusement for the mindless teenagers who were present.

“Why does CCHS allow such animal cruelty?"

A statement posted on the school’s website by principal David Pugh read: "Some individuals have expressed their sentiments about the use of animals as part of a performance at prom.

"We recognise this decision has offended some and for that we apologise.

“We all have learned a great deal from this experience,” he added.

Another video shows fire-breathers dancing next to the tiger as it walks around the cage.

More than 1,000 people have tweeted their opinions about the event.

One person wrote: “Columbus literally brought a tiger to their prom ... the tiger looked so stressed , what type of school does this?! That’s animal abuse!”

Someone else said: “A live, caged tiger for their stupid "jungle theme" prom is inhumane and completely devoid of compassion for this magnificent creature.”

A third added: “I think the reaction to the tiger at the Columbus Prom has been completely overblown. The tiger did not seem to be harmed in any way.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in