Leith Porsche Nixes Plans for Big-Cat Display Following PETA Appeal

Porsche Cars North America Shares Concerns Over Tiger Cubs’ Well-Being, Customers’ Safety

For Immediate Release:
May 12, 2014

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

In response to an appeal from PETA citing animal welfare and public-safety concerns raised by Leith Porsche’s reported plans to exhibit tiger cubs at its unveiling of the new Porsche Macan, the dealership has put the brakes on the arrangement to have the animals at its event, stating in an e-mail to PETA, “As I truly understand your concerns with this matter, you can rest assured that we will have a great launch without the harm or stress of any animals.”

PETA and another organization, Big Cat Rescue, also contacted Porsche Cars North America about other U.S. dealerships’ reported plans for baby-tiger displays. 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, Leith Porsche was quick to kick these cruel displays to the curb,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel Delcianna Winders. “By speaking out against big-cat displays, Leith 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 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. 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.

For more information, please visit PETA’s blog and BigCatRescue.org.