Lil Pump is not having the best week.
First, the candidate he threw his support behind [President Trump] has lost and now it appears that he has PETA p##### after being spotted jesting with wild animals in a private zoo.
He is not the first rapper to be singled out by the organization, but it definitely feels different as the organization has reached out to the government to intervene.
The Florida artist was captured on video climbing and posing on the trunk of an elephant named Bubble’s and playing with some baby tigers during a visit to a wildlife park, Myrtle Beach Safari.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, PETA accused the park of “apparent violations of the Animal Welfare Act.”
The animal rights organization believed that the rapper’s photo op with the elephant was “exceptionally dangerous.” They also were concerned that the tiger cubs might contract the coronavirus.
The letter noted the following: “These dangerous stunts put the animals and Lil Pump at risk of serious injury,” adding the incident was in “apparent violation” of a rule which requires that “during public exhibition, any animal must be handled so there is minimal risk of harm to the animal and to the public, with sufficient distance and/or barriers between the animal and the general viewing public so as to assure the safety of animals and the public.”
“Not only is coming into direct physical contact with an elephant’s powerful trunk extremely risky, but Lil Pump’s fall could have spooked Bubbles and led to her stepping on Lil Pump as he landed, or she could have bolted through the crowd and injured any number of bystanders.”
“In May, the USDA issued a notice advising that all hands-on encounters with nondomestic cats should be suspended until it can be assured that members of the public do not pose any risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection to big cats. Another case of an infected tiger emerged out of Tennessee just last week, demonstrating that the risk to big-cat health is indeed still a serious concern.”
Doc Antle’s Zoo in a wildlife park has been under a microscope for awhile. The “Tiger King” star, who the zoo is named after, was indicted on 15 charges: one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to traffic wildlife, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty.
No word from Lil Pump about this case. He better watch out; PETA is no joke.