Animal rights group PETA has slammed Justin Bieber for his choice of pets.
“Baby, baby, baby, nooooooo,” PETA senior vice president Lisa Lange said, in a statement to media. “Justin Bieber could inspire his fans around the world to save a life by adopting a cat from a local animal shelter — rather than fuelling the dangerous demand for hybrid cats, contributing to the animal overpopulation crisis, and proving that when it comes to helping animals, his stance so far is ‘I don’t care.’”
At issue are siblings Sushi and Tuna, a pair of Savannah cats Bieber and his wife recently purchased for a little more than $46,000 from Select Exotics in Illinois. The cats, which are part African Serval, are banned or restricted in more than 13 states.
In Ontario, where the Biebers have a home, Savannah cats are legal but f1 cats (the “filial” number refers to how many generations away from the Serval the cat is) are restricted or banned by certain municipalities. Special permits and proof of vaccinations are required to be bring the animals into Canada.
Bieber set up an Instagram account for his babies that has already attracted more than 237,000 followers.
The pop star came under fire in 2013 after his capuchin monkey OG Mally was confiscated and quarantined by German officials. Bieber abandoned his pet, which now lives in a zoo.
This year, he told Vogue: “If you had the money that I had, why wouldn’t you get a monkey? You would get a monkey!”