White tigers should never be bred. Animal conservationists have preached this for many years. Their litters are always deformed. Inbreeding causes physical deformities and afflictions that are just cruel to inflict knowingly on an animal.
Unscrupulous private breeders might cherish the idea of albino animals, but when they’re born with Down Syndrome like Kenny here, it’s just unfair. He was abandoned in 2000. Left in the care of the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.
Susan Bass, PR representative for the Florida sanctuary Big Cat Rescue (BCR) says this about white tigers and their situation:
“White tigers are not a species, they’re not endangered, they’re not in the wild. There are so many misconceptions about white tigers. They’re not normally found.”
“They don’t live as long as other tigers. They have kidney problems, they have spine issues. To get that one perfect, pretty white cub, it’s one out of 30. What happens to the other 29… euthanized, abandoned… who knows.”
Kenny’s a happy tiger, but he does suffer with his health. Here’s him having some fun at home:
