One huge thing I was concerned with when I found out about the series was how it would use tigers onscreen.
Not only is it extremely dangerous even with professional handlers on set, but it can be cruel to use exotic animals for entertainment, perpetuating the issues that Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, and Doc Antle were criticized for in the docuseries.
Carole was concerned about this, too, and urged the show not to use real wild cats. TMZ reported that a rep for Carole's Big Cat Rescue told the site that they suggested for the show to instead "utilize computer-generated imagery (CGI) of cats in the show rather than forcing real big cats to suffer just to entertain the audience."
The rep also said, "We hope McKinnon has a passion for animals and that her series will focus on the horrible lives captive big cats lead when exploited by breeders like Joe Exotic. We further hope she urges the public to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act that would end the cub petting abuse in America."
PETA also spoke out in concern for how the show will handle using tigers. A statement written by Lauren Thomasson, PETA Senior Manager of Animals in Film and Television, reads, "Netflix’s Tiger King is calling critical attention to the abuse and neglect endured by big cats and other wild animals used for entertainment — progress that will be undone if real wild animals are used in Universal Content Production’s upcoming series."
“We hope you’ll agree that using technology such as CGI or animatronics or existing footage is the only conscionable way of depicting animals for your series.”
No details about the series have been released yet, so we'll have to see how the show pulls it off.
