Big Cat Rescue gives a huge SHOUT OUT to Porsche!

This month Porsche is unveiling their new SUV called the Macan – which means Tiger in Indonesian. When Big Cat Rescue recently learned that Porsche dealerships around the country planned to rent tiger cubs as part of the “entertainment” at their Macan launch parties, we knew we had to try and educate Porsche about why this is cub abuse.

We contacted Porsche North America’s headquarters in Atlanta and explained that Big Cat Rescue as well as other GFAS-accredited sanctuaries and reputable animal welfare groups such as PETA are highly opposed to the exploitation of tiger cubs for entertainment, PR and “shock value.” We explained to Porsche that tigers are endangered in the wild and using them as props to promote automobiles would send the very wrong message that exotic animals are ours to use at will.

We were extremely pleased to find that Porsche management quickly “got it” about the abuse to the cubs and immediately notified all of their dealers around the country NOT to include tiger cubs in their marketing promotions for the Macan. And after further discussions with Big Cat Rescue and PETA, Porsche has adopted a no-animal policy for all dealer activities!!

Thanks to YOU, our wonderful supporters, our efforts to educate are increasingly gaining traction with both the public and Congress (several more House Reps and Senators have recently signed on as co-sponsors of the Big Cats bill!) and this victory with Porsche is a great example.

And a very special THANK YOU to Porsche for caring about tiger cubs and taking a responsible stance on wild animal exhibitions!

Big Cat Rescue encourages our supporters to visit their local Porsche dealer and test drive the new Macan. To read PETA’s press release, read on:

PORSCHE URGES DEALERSHIPS TO NIX TIGER CUB EVENTS FOLLOWING APPEAL

Company Shares Concerns With PETA, Big Cat Rescue Over Animals’ Well-Being, Customers’ Safety

Atlanta — In response to appeals from PETA and Big Cat Rescue citing animal welfare and public-safety concerns raised by Porsche dealerships’ reported plans to exhibit tiger cubs at unveilings of the new Porsche Macan, Porsche Cars North America has pledged to urge all of its U.S. dealerships to cancel any plans to display tiger cubs or any other animals at events.

In an e-mail to PETA, Porsche’s vice president of marketing, Andre Oosthuizen, told PETA that Porsche shares its concerns “when it comes to the ethical treatment of any animal, large or small, wild or domesticated” and “will personally make contact with every Porsche dealer to reinforce our appeal that no animals whatsoever be used in any dealer activity.”

“After hearing from PETA about how tiger cubs used for displays are torn away from their mothers shortly after birth, Porsche was quick to kick a ‘no live animals’ policy into high gear,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “By speaking out against cruel big-cat displays, Porsche has set an example of kindness and good business sense for other companies to follow.”

Baby tigers used for public display are typically only 8 to 12 weeks old—and the cubs displayed at a Porsche dealership in Tampa, Fla., earlier this month were believed to be only 3 weeks old.

In nature, tiger cubs stay with their mothers for two years, but tiger cubs used for display are generally taken away from their mothers when they’re just days old in order to “acclimate” them to human handling. The frightened, helpless cubs are continually carted from town to town and venue to venue—and when they grow up and are no longer profitable, they’re often left to languish in small cages or are disposed of.

Wild-animal displays also place the public at risk of injury and disease transmission. A bear cub recently used in a promotion at Washington University in St. Louis bit at least 18 people.

PETA’s correspondence with Porsche Cars North America is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA’s blog http://www.peta.org/blog/tigers-love-porsches/