For the first time since 2015, a live tiger will be present at Tiger Stadium for an LSU football game. The mascot will attend Saturday night’s matchup between No. 14 LSU (6-2, 3-1) and No. 11 Alabama (6-2, 3-2), though not everyone is thrilled about it.
The tiger at the game won’t be Mike VII, LSU’s renowned live mascot, but a new tiger from Florida, as reported by LouisianaSports.net. Governor Jeff Landry had advocated for Mike to be on the sidelines for the game, but the veterinary school prohibited it, citing that the current Mike has never been taken out of his enclosure. Shortly after the news broke, PETA expressed its strong disapproval in a statement to The Advocate.
“It’s shameful and out of touch with today’s respect for wild animals that LSU has caved to Governor Landry’s push to display a live tiger at its football games for entertainment,” said David Perle, PETA’s senior media manager, in a statement. “LSU made the right decision nearly a decade ago to end this outdated and cruel practice after realizing it was harmful to subject a sensitive big cat to the noise, lights, and crowds of a football stadium.”
Regardless of whether the tiger is kept on campus or brought in from elsewhere, no reputable facility would put a tiger through such turmoil and stress. PETA, along with nearly 50,000 supporters, has already urged Landry to stop and leave the big cats alone. They are now calling on LSU to stand firm and refuse to participate.
In 1936, a group of students and university staff raised $750, collecting 25 cents from each student, to purchase a 200-pound, 1-year-old tiger named Sheik from the Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas. The tiger was renamed Mike in honor of former LSU athletic trainer Chellis “Mike” Chamber.
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