Forget supermodels and celebrity cover girls! Baby leopards are the hottest new trend for promoting high fashion goods.
I (ahem) spotted one a few weeks ago in the J. Crew catalog, and the Telegraph has rounded up two more examples of leopard luxe on the cover of Harper's Bazaar, and in an adorable campaign for Cartier (presumably marketing to those who prefer their jewels lightly chewed).
Baby leopards: coming soon to a fashion campaign near you!
It is irresponsible to use an animal like this! These cubs need to be with their mother, eating and sleeping all day. Not out, exposed to a strange world, being kept awake for fashion! Their little bodies can get sick too easily from the stress, weakening their immune system. It's dangerous and they can die from it.
ReplyDeleteIf they make it long enough and grow into something too big to handle or expensive to feed and haul around, then they are sold to the highest bidder at auction. Those who might buy don't have to know what they're doing, they just have to have the money, and most states don't regulate ownership, so they won't be required to have a license or regular inspections either. The big cats will go into spare rooms; garages; basements or small pens in the yard, where the objective is to have as many litters as possible.
Rarely is confinement safe or healthy, as the animal probably will not have enough space or a natural habitat to live properly. Sanctuaries across this nation have big cats from these situations, where the animals became too much to handle. They are often near death and dying, crippled from a small living space or bad nutrition by the time help is called in. Sometimes the owner dies and the family turns the animals over.
Many states don't know or keep records, so there's no way to know how many animals are suffering . . . Until something happens. The few states who monitor ownership often end up confiscating the animals, and sometimes it's because of an emergency - an animal attack, where the animal gets blamed for doing what they, when the human was stupid.
The other buyers are those who run so-called wildlife refuges, where 'hunters' pay to hunt wild game, For paying big money, they are guaranteed to take home a 'trophy' kill. Obviously the nature of their 'business' means they have to keep their property populated as the animals are killed.
Cute little animals have no business being used and abused to amuse us! As much as I love seeing them, adore the thought of holding one, they deserve to live a healthy, safe life away from harm, which means not being exploited as entertainment.