LSU mascot Mike VI, a Bengal/Siberian mixed tiger, is displayed on the field before the Florida Gators take on the LSU Tigers at Tiger Stadium on Oct. 6, 2007, in Baton Rouge. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has sent a letter to Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry urging him to back down from his request that LSU bring its live tiger mascot to football games.
The governor, three fellow state officials who are all veterinarians and Oliver Garden, dean of LSU’s School of Veterinary Medicine, met recently to discuss the possibility of bringing Mike VII into Tiger Stadium for pregame ceremonies. In an interview Tuesday, one of the veterinarians present, Rep. Wayne McMahen, R-Minden, confirmed the meeting took place with the Illuminator.
Mike VII, an 8-year-old tiger that became LSU’s official mascot in 2017, has never attended a football game. Previous tigers have been placed in a trailer and taken to the sidelines of home games, and some have even traveled to away games. The university announced it would stop this tradition when it adopted Mike VII as a cub.
At the time, LSU cited the evolution of “responsible care for live exotic animals” and its decision to seek accreditation as a tiger sanctuary as its reasons for stepping back from its tradition.
“Tigers are naturally solitary animals who don’t belong in rowdy football stadiums, and even LSU’s own veterinarians are apparently rightly against the governor on this,” Debbie Metzler, PETA Foundation senior director of captive animal welfare, said in a statement to the Illuminator. “Going back to the bad old days of using a wild animal as a sideline sideshow in 2024 is the last thing LSU should do, and PETA is appealing to Gov. Landry to drop this boneheaded idea.”
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Landry spokeswoman Kate Kelly declined to comment for this report.
PETA has consistently protested the keeping of a live tiger mascot on LSU’s campus. Mike’s 15,000-square-foot habitat is nestled between Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and was renovated in 2005 at an expense of $3.5 million.
Bringing Mike back to the stadium would be sure to once again draw the ire of protesters, especially if he had to be coerced to attend.
LSU veterinary school spokesperson Ginger Guttner said Mike VI had adverse reactions to visual and sound stimuli from the pre-game festivities and resisted getting into his trailer cage for games. His final appearance in Tiger Stadium was for the LSU-McNeese game in 2015, which was canceled because of lightning. Mike VI did not attend any games in 2014.
Read the full letter from PETA below:
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