Like many over the new year’s period, Beyonce and Jay-Z (or BeyJay as we call them) headed to Thailand for some fun in the sun. They probably didn’t drink cheap Thai whiskey out of buckets and fraternise with ladyboys, but they have still managed to land themselves in hot water over a grainy photo of them bottle-feeding a baby tiger.

The power couple, who were holidaying in Phuket with their daughter Blue Ivy, decided to visit the FantaSea theme park and could’t resist snapping a pic with the young feline. Being the daughter of musical royalty, Blue Ivy is of course wearing a crown. I half expected Rafiki to pop out and hold her aloft whilst Elton John busted out “The Circle of Life”, but no such luck.

The backlash has been swift, of course, with hollywoodreporter quoting a rep for World Animal Protection as follows:

A tiger is not a plaything…their health and well-being should not be sacrificed for a photo opportunity. When you look behind the scenes, vacation snaps like these support an industry that relies on animal cruelty … this sordid side of tourism is conveniently hidden from public view.

They also popped in at a local temple, Beyonce sharing this pic on her Instagram account:

For future reference they might want to avoid bottle-feeding endangered species. If Beyonce had breastfed on the other hand…

If you would like to see what Thailand has to offer other than milk-guzzling baby tigers Groupon are running a special nine-day getaway to Phuket and Bangkok, which includes domestic flights, transfers and accommodation.