Tiger Goes Permanently Blind and Has Eyelids Sewn Shut Due to Tourist Camera Flashes
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In a tragic case of wildlife exploitation, a captive tiger named Firmin has been left permanently blind after years of exposure to tourists’ camera flashes.
A tiger, who was exploited for profit in Spain, has suffered irreversible eye damage due to the camera flashes of tourists. Despite multiple veterinary interventions at La Tanière Zoo Refuge in France, where he was transferred in 2019, Firmin the tiger’s condition deteriorated, leading to the removal of both his eyes and the sewing shut of his eyelids to help alleviate his pain.
The deterioration of Firmin’s sight and the subsequent removal of his eyes is directly related to the number of camera flashes he endured on a daily basis while being used as a selfie prop in Spain. Not only did he spend years of his life being exploited, he also spent years of his life enduring sight issues and pain, now leaving him blind.
This incident underscores the urgent need to reconsider our interactions with wild animals in captivity. While close encounters with majestic creatures like tigers may seem enticing, these experiences often come at a significant cost to the animals’ well-being.
World Animal Protection has been exposing the harmful effects of wildlife selfies for over a decade, including an investigative report into wildlife selfies in the Amazon in 2017. The report found that social media was predominantly driving these businesses, as wildlife selfies increased 292 percent on Instagram between June 2014 and June 2017.
In light of the report, World Animal Protection worked with Instagram to implement a pop-up when searching for hashtags that might involve animal cruelty, such as #TigerSelfie or #WildlifeSelfie. We are proud that, to this day, the message urging people to protect wild animals still shows up when these hashtags are searched.
While this is a step in the right direction, it’s up to all of us to put an end to the cruelty of wildlife selfies. That’s why we launched the Wildlife Heritage Areas program in partnership with the World Cetacean Alliance—a solution-driven initiative that allows people to experience wildlife respectfully, without fueling exploitation and suffering.
To help animals and to end the cruelty of wildlife selfies, we encourage you to see animals where they belong: in the wild.
For more information and to help protect all wild animals, take The Wildlife Selfie Code today.