After PETA criticized Justin Bieber for spending $35k on a pair of exotic kittens, the ‘Sorry’ singer clapped back by saying the organization needs to stop ‘tripping’ and focus on ‘real’ issues plaguing animals today.
“PETA can suck it,” Justin Bieber, 25, posted to his Instagram Stories on Oct. 3. Biebs shared a screenshot of a story about how PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) objected to him spending $35,000 on Sushi and Tuna, his new part-exotic kittens. That wasn’t all Justin had to say on the subject. “PETA go focus on real problems. Like poaching, and animal brutality. Ur tripping because I want a specific kind of cat? U weren’t tripping when I got my dog Oscar, and he wasn’t a rescue…every pet we get must be a rescue?”
“I believe in adopting rescues but also think there are preferences, and that’s what breeders are for,” said Justin. “PETA go help with all of the plastic in the ocean, and leave my beautiful cats alone.” He then shared a link to their Instagram page — @KittySushiandTuna – and by the time of this post’s publication, they had over 260k followers. @PETA, by the way, has 1.2 million followers, and it’ll be interesting to see if Sushi and Tuna will surpass their critics on Instagram. Considering how much the Internet loves cats, they’ll probably have over a million followers by the end of the month.
Don’t expect PETA to follow Tuna and Sushi. After Justin’s criticism, @PETA shared a statement from their president, Ingrid Newkirk. “Sorry, Justin, but you must think more deeply about this issue: when millions of animals are losing their lives every year because not enough people adopt – choosing instead to shop – the animal overpopulation crisis is a ‘real problem.’ ”
“Baby, baby, baby, nooooooo,” PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange told PEOPLE after first hearing about Justin’s decision to purchase Sushi and Tuna. “Justin Bieber inspire his fans around the world to save a life by adopting a cat from a local animal shelter — rather than fueling the dangerous demand for hybrid cats, contributing to the animal overpopulation crisis, and proving that when it comes to helping animals, his stance so far is ‘I don’t care.’ ”
Justin’s kittens are Savannah cats that hail from Illinois-based breeder Select Exotics. The Savannah is a breed that’s part domestic cat and part African Serval, a wild feline with “intelligence that rivals the smartest of dogs,” according to Select Exotics’ website. Since they’re considered an exotic pet, Savannahs are legally restricted or banned in Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont, according to the Savannah Cat Association (h/t PEOPLE.)
Arizona, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia allow Savannah Cats, so if Justin and his wife, Hailey Baldwin, want to move to Denver, Honolulu, Dayton, or Boston, they’ll have to leave their kitties behind.