LSU football is set to have a live tiger present for its game against Alabama on Saturday. The decision is getting hit with criticism by the animal rights organization PETA.
“Tigers are naturally solitary and shun human contact, and to deny them their nature by treating them like a sideline spectacle is the epitome of speciesism—a human-supremacist worldview,” PETA said in a statement.
The animal rights organization is asking people to urge Louisiana's governor Jeff Landry to cancel the request. Landry reportedly is responsible for the decision to bring in the live tiger, per WAFB TV in Louisiana.
PETA says the last time a live tiger was brought into the football stadium, it didn't go well for the animal.
“Nearly a decade ago, LSU ditched this tradition of tiger torment, in part due to adverse reactions a tiger named Mike VI had to the barrage of disorienting lights and noise,” the PETA statement added.
LSU and Alabama battle on the gridiron Saturday at 7:30 Eastern. Both squads are 6-2 on the year and ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 football poll.
The LSU football tiger is already on its way to Baton Rouge
LSU football is getting a bengal tiger for Saturday's game, whose name is Omar Bradley. The tiger is one and a half years old, per WBRZ TV. Omar Bradley is apparently being transported from his home in Florida to the game.
Live tigers used to be seen at LSU football games, but haven't been a part of the festivities for some years. That's because the school risked losing a license with the U.S. Department of Agriculture if the animal appeared at the stadium.
“This tiger in particular is only a year and a half old, and I can very confidently say has never been in a stadium, with tens of thousands of screaming football fans. This is going to be extremely stressful for this tiger,” Klayton Rutherford, the PETA Foundation's associate director of captive wildlife research said, per WBRZ.
Time will tell how this story ends for the tiger and LSU football.
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