KUALA LUMPUR: A social media influencer who posted a video of herself walking a tiger in Dubai has sparked online attention– both positive and negative.
India Times reported yesterday that social media influencer Nadia Khar, wearing tattered clothes, was seen walking a tiger inside a zoo and a public park in Dubai.
In the video, she claims the tiger is her pet and captions it: "Taking my pet tiger for a walk in Dubai is different."
The video posted by Nadia received about 6 million views and more than 100,000 likes.
Social media users commented on the post asking how she is able to walk around like this in Dubai without getting into trouble and some even regarded her as a brave woman.
One commenter said: "It's not okay to condone animal cruelty ('stop' and 'hand' emojis). Look pretty doing other things."
Another wrote: "Poor tiger. Gracefully walking with some cartoon."
According to the report, there is an increase in the number of exotic animals owned as pets in Dubai.
The animals include huge predators like tigers, lions and bears as well as more conventional options like monkeys and giraffes being owned by many as pets.
These animals are maintained in private zoos inside homes.
For instance, Humaid Abdulla, an entrepreneur from Dubai, has had celebrities pay visits to his collection of wild animals.
However, this practice also raises questions regarding animal welfare and safety in such intimate settings.