‘Idiotic and archaic’: PETA slams LSU’s decision to bring live mascot into stadium for Alabama game

National group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is urging Louisiana State University to reconsider their decision to bring a live tiger into the stadium for this Saturday’s Alabama football game.

The university (LSU) previously discontinued the practice after the 2016 death of previous mascot Mike VI. Their decision to bring a tiger in this Saturday follows ongoing public advocacy from Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry.

Landry helped facilitate a tiger’s delivery from an out of state refuge to be used for the game while the university’s current eight-year-old mascot, Mike VII, will be kept in his 15,000 square foot habitat across the street from the stadium, according to a report from Louisiana Sports.

“It’s shameful and out of touch with today’s respect for wild species that LSU has bowed to Gov. Landry’s campaign to display a live tiger at its football games to amuse the fans,” reads a statement from PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Wildlife Research Klayton Rutherford.

“LSU rightly ended this idiotic, archaic practice nearly a decade ago after recognizing that it was cruel to subject a sensitive big cat to the noise, lights, and crowds in a football stadium.”

“Whether the tiger is confined to campus or shipped in from elsewhere, no reputable facility would subject a tiger to such chaos and stress, and PETA and nearly 50,000 of its supporters have already called on Landry to let up and leave big cats alone—and are now urging LSU to grow a spine and just say no.”

LSU representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.