A Tennessee man has sparked controversy after getting an iguana shipped to him via FedEx. Adding to the chaos is the fact that the animal got loose within the FedEx store, and the man grabbed the iguana by the tail to recapture it.
The man posted the original clip on Instagram and explained that the iguana’s name is Titan. It is unclear why the animal was being shipped to the man, but he did conclude the post by writing, “Welcome to the family, Titan!” Based on that text, it can be assumed that he had just gotten the iguana, and it was shipped by a seller of some sort.
Regarding Titan getting loose in the FedEx store, the man clarified that the staff thought it was funny and nobody actually got hurt. He also explained that he thought the animal would be “stiff for a minute“, and didn’t expect it to just jump out of the box and run away. The way he wrote about his expectations of the iguana’s post-shipping condition does make it seem like this was not his first time shipping an animal.
The clip has since been shared on other platforms, and the Tennessee man isn’t faring as well in the public comments sections as he was on his personal Instagram page. One such example of Redditors’ thoughts about the clip is, “Imagine posting your support of animal abuse on the internet.” Someone else lumped the person who shipped Titan in with the hate by writing, “Poor thing. This is horrible. This trade and delivery is just despicable. He’s an [expletive] and so is the person that shipped it.“
Others simply expressed shock at the way FedEx handled the situation. For example, one person wrote, “I can’t believe they just let him open that [expletive] up in the store knowing anything could happen.” In fact, the employees specifically requested the man open the box in the FedEx store. It’s possible they have to do that in order to prove the animal was delivered alive, in order to avoid a lawsuit.
That said, most Tennessee folks simply expressed shock that it’s possible to ship an animal via FedEx at all. As one Redditor inquired, “Is that legal?” Apparently, it is, although there are restrictions as to where you can ship an animal, how, and what type of animal.
Legal or not, it would certainly be nicer for the pet not to be stuck all by itself in a box the way Titan was. Rather, if transporting an animal is necessary, it’s advised to take a flight with it – like a responsible pet parent.
