Manchester United player Scott McTominay has been criticised by animal rights campaigners for showcasing his visit to an animal park in Dubai.
McTominay, 26, headed to Spain alongside fellow non- World Cup squad members for some warm-weather training and two matches last week. However, with the domestic schedule still on hold, the same players have been granted some time away from their Carrington base.
It led McTominay over to Dubai for a short break. But that trip has resulted in the Scotland international from being criticised by World Animal Protection (WAP) for an Instagram post and, more specifically, its content.
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While in the United Arab Emirates city, McTominay was invited to Fame Park, which is a zoo not open to the public and owned by Emirati entrepreneur, Saif Ahmad Belhasa. It has proven to be a hotspot for celebrities over the years and to widespread condemnation from WAP and similar groups.
Fame is home to exotic and wild animals. McTominay headed to the zoo and uploaded pictures onto his Instagram profile featuring tigers, birds, snakes and other animals.
However, the visit and subsequent post, in which McTominay expressed his gratitude to zoo owner Saif Ahmad Belhasa for his invite, has been slammed by WAP with comments on the upload also seeing him come under the microscope. His caption read: "Thank you so much to @sb_belhasa for an incredible day."
A response has since been issued from Katheryn Wise, wildlife campaigns manager at World Animal Protection. She said: "It's very disappointing to see Scott McTominay posing with captive wild animals."
Her statement continued: "These incredible animals are not commodities to gain "likes" on social media. Venues that offer this kind of opportunity normalise this harmful trend that causes misery for thousands of animals worldwide.
"Captive wild animals face a lifetime of suffering just to entertain tourists. If you can hug, ride, touch or take a photo with a wild animal, the chances are it has suffered some kind of cruelty. Wild animals are not ours to exploit - they belong in the wild."
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