In case you missed it, a Miami high school is feeling the heat after a wild choice of entertainment at its prom. Christopher Columbus High School took jungle theme to the next level when it arranged for several animals to join in on the big night, including a tiger in a cage. While the school insists it was all for entertainment purposes, some students and families are not happy about.
The night’s festivities included multiple caged animals and a fire juggler act. The tiger is what’s gaining the most attention. Student Marie Christine Castellanos says her brother attended the prom. She and her family are animal rights activists and she took to her Facebook to express her frustration.
Marie tells reporters there’s no need for the tiger at prom. “Tigers are wild animals,” she says. “They don’t need to be displayed as objects for our amusement. They don’t like the fire, the cages, the music, the teenagers with the cameras, they didn’t ask for that, they don’t have voices.”
- However the school insists that everything was safe. In a statement they noted that several animals were on display besides the tiger including a lemur, two macaws, and an African fennec fox. The school says the tiger, which was provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was only displayed for a few minutes and was never in any harms way. Administrators also note that the Double Tree Hilton hosting the prom had approved its appearance.