Poni Hoax, Olga Kouklaki The Soundtrack of Your Fears (2008)
The practice of keeping wild animals as pets gained widespread attention in 2020 with the release of the American true crime documentary Tiger King. The series delves into the complex and often murky world of “big cat” conservationists and private collectors in the United States. The first season specifically focuses on “Tiger King” Joe Exotic, the flamboyant owner of the G.W. Zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, and his intense, long-standing rivalry with Carole Baskin, the head of Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida.
However, Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin are far from the only individuals in the U.S. who keep tigers as pets. An estimated 5,000 tigers live in captivity across the country, many in private hands.
The ethics of keeping wild animals, particularly as pets, remain contentious. The debate takes on a poetic dimension when listening to the haunting duet by Nicolas Ker and Olga Kouklaki in Poni Hoax’s 2008 indie ballad “The Soundtrack of Your Fears”. In the song, they sing: “You cannot tame no animal / You can only try to communicate.” While Ker and Kouklaki’s lyrics probably reflect the human experience of coexisting with others on a metaphorical level, they also make you think about the morality of keeping wild animals in captivity.
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