Justin Bieber slams PETA after they criticize him over exotic cats, but he's been called out before
Justin Bieber is again in trouble with animal welfare advocates.
PETA criticized the singer for spending a reported $35,000 last month on a pair of young Savannah cats, which he named Sushi and Tuna, ahead of his second wedding with Hailey Baldwin. He reportedly bought the part-wild kittens from an Illinois breeder, Select Exotic, which describes them as “a Serval/domestic feline cross.” The Hollywood Reporter noted that the Savannah cats are banned in several states, although they’re legal in South Carolina and California.
Bieber has already started an official Instagram account for the two.
In a statement, PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange criticized Bieber for “fueling the dangerous demand for hybrid cats” and “contributing to the animal overpopulation crisis,” rather than adopting from a shelter.
Bieber responded by telling PETA to “go focus on real problems.”
In the past, Bieber has been called out by PETA and others for some of the many pets he’s owned.
Here’s a look back at a few of them:
His capuchin monkey, Mally
In March 2013, it was the German government that was unhappy with the pop star’s attempt to bring Mally, the capuchin monkey he received as a gift for his 19th birthday, into the country, where he was on tour. Bieber couldn’t produce the proper paperwork for the adorable animal, so he was forced to leave him with authorities at the airport. Mally was later transferred to a shelter in Munich and, eventually, placed with a monkey family.
His hamster, PAC
In 2012, Bieber gave this cute, tiny creature away to one of his fans following his performance at a concert in Atlanta. Though the fan he chose to give a home to PAC, 18-year-old Victoria Blair, was excited, the California Hamster Association was not. They considered it animal cruelty that Bieber handed the hamster to a screaming fan during one of his concerts, adding that hamsters are delicate creatures. Hamsters “often succumb quickly to illness and death” when they encounter with “sudden environmental change,” a spokesman told TMZ.
His snake, Johnson
Bieber was chirped for auctioning off Johnson, the baby albino boa constrictor he brought with him to the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, at a charity event a few months later. His biggest critic was Michael Kronick, the man who placed the winning bid. “I found it really disgusting that celebrities like Bieber would stoop to a level of using living creatures as a fashion accessory and then so easily discard it,” Kronick told E! News in March 2012. Johnson’s new owner turned the snake over to the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Zoo in Owatonna, Minn.
Bieber has had such a long list of pets — not all of them controversial — that he could almost open his own zoo.
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Stevie Wonder offers to appear on Eddie Murphy's 'SNL' episode, if he asks: 'He's a superstar'
Maren Morris says amount of time she gets on country music radio compared to men is 'staggering'
Oprah Winfrey expected to be campaigning in Iowa by now — but not for herself
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle’s newsletter.