Another day, another Florida headline.
This time, parents are outraged that Christopher Columbus High School had a number of live exotic animals on display at prom. The “Welcome To the Jungle” theme featured a lemur, two macaws, an African fennec fox and a tiger.
Not everyone was impressed as the caged tiger rolled into the prom. Complaints moved the school to issue the following written statement:
“The tiger, which was displayed for a few minutes in a cage was never harmed or in danger, was not forced to perform, was always accompanied by his handlers… and for the great majority of the time was laying down in a relaxed state facing away from the audience.”
Cell phone videos showed different. The tiger is seen pacing back and forth and the videos also revealed that exotic birds were used as centerpieces.
Although the school insists that the facility that provided the animals is licensed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, that was little consolation to Maria Castellanos; a parent that took her frustrations to Facebook.
“That tiger was in distress. The reason he’s pacing up and down, up and down, with his tail going and his ears all folded back, is showing you distress.”
Flip the page for Castellano’s Facebook post and videos from the soiree.