A Florida High School is under fire after they thought it would be a great idea to bring a live, caged tiger to their senior prom as an entertainment prop for students.
Christopher Columbus High School, an elite all-boys school in Florida, held their senior prom with the theme “Welcome to the Jungle.” The prom coordinators thought it would be a great idea to include wild animals, along with the regular decorations of streamers and balloons.
One South Florida prom got a bit wild this weekend and some parents and animal advocates aren’t happy. A live tiger was part of the entertainment at the Columbus prom. What do you think? Too much or no big deal? The full story on @CBSMiami. pic.twitter.com/RCJeSbtIpW
— Lauren Pastrana CBS4 (@LaurenPastrana) May 14, 2018
Along with the live tiger, the school also featured other animals such as foxes, which the students were able to actually hold and take photos with.
The tiger, however, was caged the entire evening and placed in the middle of the dance floor during live-performances, like a fire dancer. One social media user posted the videos on Facebook after her little brother attended the prom–outraged that they would use an animal like this, calling it “animal cruelty.”
How shameful for Christopher Columbus High school …showing its students on prom night who is the “king of the jungle “…
Posted by Mari-Cris Castellanos on Saturday, May 12, 2018
Many other people on Twitter shared in the outrage and mistreatment of the tiger and other animals, used as props for the students.
Columbus literally brought a tiger to their prom … the tiger looked so stressed , what type of school does this?! That’s animal abuse!
— Fifii (@fiorebiagioni_) May 14, 2018
Me calling @peta after hearing Columbus had a caged tiger at their prom pic.twitter.com/jAUSd1Zuhs
— biacna (@biancadfgh) May 14, 2018
Christopher Columbus High School in Miami included a caged tiger in their prom theme!
Videos show the restless, anxious tiger pacing in the tiny cage.
It is ironic that a place that’s meant to promote education is displaying such ignorance.#JungleKing NOT #PromKing pic.twitter.com/47wFoD3RsJ
— Bella Lack ???? (@BellaLack) May 15, 2018
Since the school has received backlash from all over the world for their decision to include the caged animals in the prom, the Principal has issued an apology statement saying:
“As a school community, we regret the decision to have had live animals at our prom. This incident in no way reflects our school’s Marist values and/or accomplishments of our young men nor our sensitivity to animal rights. We will immediately evaluate our current policies and procedures regarding all school activities and events. We can assure the Columbus community and all who have expressed concern, that we are sorry. We have learned a great deal from this experience.
Either way, whoever thought that it was a good idea to cage a wild animal and use it as a form of entertainment should think twice before planning anymore school events.