Only last week I felt a small thaw in my cold heart for Justin Bieber. But just as I was willing to give him another chance, he announces he is thinking about adopting a rare white lion cub. As has been well documented, Bieber has serious issues caring for himself, let alone some poor, innocent creature. In 2012, he gave away his hamster, PAC, to a random fan waiting in line. After proving he couldn’t care for a hamster, Bieber accepted a nine-week-old capuchin monkey named Mally as a birthday gift. Poor Mally was confiscated at the German border when Bieber failed to bring the proper paperwork for transport. Ultimately, Bieber decided he just didn’t want Mally, who now resides in the Serengeti Safari Park in Hodenhagen, Germany. Three weeks ago, Bieber was reprimanded for taking photos at his father’s engagement party with a tiger from a zoo whose owner has been charged with five counts of animal cruelty. Bieber, proving he is incapable of learning anything, wants to bring a rare lion cub into his roaming circus.
“Baby” singer Justin Bieber has fallen hard for a small cub.
The Biebs was introduced to a rare white lion before his Wednesday night concert in Toronto and, the adorable beast’s owner, millionaire entrepreneur and animal lover Alex Haditaghi, says Bieber and the cat have started a serious relationship.
“I was amazed how great he was with animals — how caring he was,” Haditaghi, a 38-year-old dot-com company whiz, told Confidenti@l. Haditaghi hopes to open a “1,000 to 2,000 acre” animal sanctuary in either the U.S. or Canada by the end of the year and thinks that Bieber, a fellow Canadian, would be a fantastic spokesman. He also beliebs the controversial pop star expressed an interest in taking his catty relationship to the next level.
“We still haven’t figured out if it’s an adoption or sponsorship,” Haditaghi said of Bieber’s alleged intentions to stay involved in the majestic big kitty’s life. He tells us that white lions typically sell for about $50,000.
According to Haditaghi, the lion would probably stay in his proposed sanctuary once it’s built — in either Florida, Arizona or Canada, depending on where he finds the most suitable property. It’s his hope that Bieber would be able to tour with the animal and talk to his fans about wildlife preservation. According to Haditaghi, Bieber’s new lion pal is currently being called Alex, though the Biebs wants to name him Simba.
Alex Haditaghi is CEO of MoPals Mortgage Group and Refinery29 refers to him as a “serial entrepreneur”. I cannot find evidence that he currently has a proper sanctuary, only that he wants to build one but they haven’t even selected a location yet. Most of his animal preservation efforts seem to be on his own Instagram, on which he posts pics like this:
So you can see why the thought of either of these two educating anyone on wildlife preservation would be less than ideal.
MTV says that Bieber, in fact, met Alex his father’s party so he wasn’t ‘introduced’ before his concert last Wednesday; he obviously requested Alex be brought to a 20,000 capacity arena for a snuggle. And this is the life Haditaghi wants for the Alex; to go on tour with Bieber.
Haditaghi says above that originally the thought of meeting Bieber would cause him to do himself bodily harm but now he loves the kid, which sounds to me like a lot of money exchanged hands. Both World Animal Protection and PETA have already responded to this situation. I am really not a fan of PETA’s but I will be happy to hold their jacket as they go the rounds with these punks right now. #FREEALEX
Photo credit: Instagram and Fame/Flynet Photos
Is there some kind of psychological need that children forced to perform at a young age turn to owning exotic animals? I’m thinking Micheal Jackson here. Not only Bubbles, but he had a menagerie at NeverLand, as well. Stop doing this.
My mom volunteers at the ape sanctuary that now cares for Bubbles. It’s so lovely to see him thriving with fellow chimps and have plenty of room to roam and be a chimp… but it’s absolutely heartbreaking that he and all his friends were once confined as pets. He was subjected to awful conditions in the years after Michael gave him up, too. Breeders and trainers like this guy are the scum of the earth.
Stories like this make me so, so angry. With all his money and visibility, Bieber can single-handedly undo all the good that sanctuaries spend decades trying to do for animals. I know so many people who have dedicated their lives to spreading awareness about the exotic pet trade and trying to raise funds to properly care for former pets and “stars” and test subjects… these animals do NOT belong in anyone’s traveling tour for ANY reason, and they are not pets. Full stop.
It’s really especially bad to keep social animals like primates away from others like them. We’re primates, too. How well do humans do when raised by other species, away from other humans? Not very well.
Dogs and cats have been around humans for millennia, so they are a different case. Dogs need a pack, but they seem to have adapted to including humans in their pack. Cats just think they’re God and expect to be waited on paw and foot… So they often do fine as the only cat to rule the roost even though I think they still benefit from having another cat around even if they don’t get along well with each other. At least they speak the same language. But they still need other cats when they are very young especially, which is why I try to hire two kittens if there isn’t already an adult feline mentor on staff. The adult takes over raising the kitten pretty readily and hopefully helps the kitten get over the trauma of being ripped away from its mom and siblings. (Did I mention how often I dislike my own species? We’re really awful to other animals, besides being awful to our own.)
Thank you Brittney! Bieber is trying to justify his owning a animal he has no business owning by disguising it as preservation. Preservation is keeping these animals in the wild by protecting them, their habitat, and allowing them to live naturally. Keeping one as a pet is by no means “preservation.”
It doesn’t matter how well he treats the animal or how often he plays with it and “loves” it. There is no quality of life for a wild animal to be caged, pen, given it’s food like a human toddler, and attemting to make it into a lap dog. These animals in the wild have a square mile radius roaming territory. They hunt their own food. They are communal – live with other animals like them. So, yes, donate to sanctuaries by all means, but do not try to take them into your home no matter how big your yard is or acreage. They need to live wild or they get depressed and sick and die young.
What a stupid knob. I can’t stand this kid. So dumb and….selfish.
What are the laws regarding the ownership of these animals in the US? Can anyone just buy/adopt an exotic animal such as a monkey or tiger? In Australia, this is pretty much unheard of, unless one has a private zoo. Even then, one must have a background check and license to operate such an enterprise, is limited as to what animals can be kept and the RSPCA keeps a very close eye on them. My gynaecologist was a lovely, eccentric man who had his own private little zoo, which my family was lucky enough to be invited to several times. He had several of the same animals, and they were in excellent health. He had regular visits from the RSPCA to make sure of this, although he was totally devoted to his animals. When he died, his 5 children took over the responsibilities, until the animals’ lives came to an end. The last couple were adopted by two zoos.
Our laws about keeping any animal are very strict, and rightly so. Obviously, owners are required to have domestic animals registered and chipped, and people wanting to keep reptiles, for example, require a special license, but there always those who will flout the law, and penalties can be very severe.
I’m interested because we often see programmes or read stories about regular people in the US with monkeys etc. as pets, who eventually run into all sorts of problems.
…is today painfully ironic celebrity day?
Also, my heart froze over long ago for this kid. Whatever issues he has could be fixed with a therapist, some meds, and some soul searching.
At this point a douche is a douche in a funny jacket and diaper pants.
I felt so sad for Justin Bieber at the Billboards. Between his stiff moves and his bad lip-synching/singing (when he actually deigned to sing above the backing track), he reminded me of Britney Spears. They should let him retire. He’s obviously just going through the motions right now.
I don’t feel sorry for Bieber. He is spoiled and lazy. I imagine he is extremely burnt out because yes he started as a child. He is no longer a child, has millions at his disposal and shows no signs of not behaving abominably. It is all Justin all the time and it is no longer amusing. He is increasingly offensive to his fans. Who announces to their fans that he will no longer meet with them after said fans have paid large sums for a meet and greet? I’m all for celebrities having down time and not constantly being harangued whenever they leave the house. I am your fan (excepting Bieber) but I don’t own you. You are not beholden to me. Even you Bieber. If his life is too stifling he needs to finish his commitments, enjoy the fruits of his labor and stop whining. Tell his team to back the eff up and give him some breathing room.
Hopefully the white tiger can do what we all know needs to be done…
Jk.
😄
but wouldn’t this hypothetical situation lead to the cub/lion being put down, if it were to injure/maim people? or turn feral due to improper care?
i hope Justin would forget about it at the airport again or something, it’s probably the best for the cub in the long run.
How dare you!!! Make me laugh like that. Hee. Hee.
Baby Biebs, what happened to your pet monkey? 😡
Fed him to the lion cub….
He does know that cute little lion cubs turn into full-grown lions, yes?
The guy may love animals, but he sure as hell isn’t able to care for them.
So, so many people love the idea of animals, but cannot handle the everyday reality of caring for them properly. And this guy totally has the resources to employ someone to do exactly that. Why doesn’t he?
Even with a keeper (for the lion, I mean, although Justin needs one also), the cub needs to learn how to be a lion from other lions. He or she needs to be with other cubs in particular. They normally stay with their moms much longer than Justin probably realizes, and humans haven’t had close association with lions for thousands of years as we have had with the small cats and so we don’t cut it as substitutes. Even with house cats, I think they do better with at least one other cat around, preferably an adult who teaches them about all things feline. Do lions foster cubs the way house cats do?
I wasn’t thinking of the lion per say, just the idea that he could employ someone to handle the dirty work of animal care for him. He could totally have his cake and eat it too, and he chooses instead to be impulsive and subsequently neglectful of his animals.
But yes, adopting (buying?) a lion cub is a terrible idea regardless.
So true. One reason I don’t have a dog, other than not being a dog person, is that they require a lot of work. Therefore I have cats. What I wonder, is if he is going to take this animal on tour (not a good idea BTW) and if he goes to other countries, is he going to do the proper paper work and worry about quarantine laws (like Australia has). Also, that cub needs a LARGE space to roam around in and should not be confined in a small area.
This is appalling.
Anyone who wants a “proper” sanctuary should know that an animal should NOT be sent out on tour, and most of the really reputable big cat ones discourage human contact like that.
If they want to help animals, donate their time and money to existing, well established, and “proper” sanctuaries that already know how to do this, and how to best care for these animals.
Given Bieber’s track record, I wouldn’t trust him with a plush toy, let alone a real living creature.
Noooooooooo!!!!!!
+1000
I hope the Biebs will reconsider doing a tour with the big cat. I’d rather him create a website with information on why it’s unhealthy for wild animals to be used as house pets and spend his money on sanctuaries that rescue discarded exotic animals. These animals are cute and cuddly when they are babies but they grow up to be the predatory animals they should be.
This poor, used up kid. He’ll be part of the ’27’ club if he isn’t careful. He looks drugged out.