Death of LSU Tiger Leads To Demands For An End To Tiger Mascots
Fans of college football will be well aware that LSU Tigers have a long tradition of parading a live tiger mascot at their home games. The LSU tiger bore the name “Mike” and was LSU’s seventh live tiger mascot. ESPN reported that LSU’s latest tiger died yesterday after a battle with cancer. The tiger arrived at LSU when it was two-years-old and lived in a 15,000-square-foot enclosure and yard next to Tiger Stadium until its death yesterday.
People reports that LSU took to social media to announce that their tiger had died and as you would expect, many expressed their sympathy after the tiger’s death.
According to Time Magazine, LSU’s tiger had been suffering from spindle cell sarcoma and the cancer had spread. Veterinarians said that the tiger could only live for one or two more months. The tiger had been moved from his habitat to an animal hospice when a decline in the tiger’s health meant he could not be in an outdoor environment.
Dr. David Baker of the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine said that the tiger “was euthanized in its ‘night house’ on the Baton Rouge campus” after a CT scan and physical exam showed a tumor in the tiger’s skull had grown and his cancer had spread.
We are deeply saddened to have lost our beloved live Tiger mascot, @MikeTigerVI, after a 4-month battle with cancer. https://t.co/zSy3T7BCCY pic.twitter.com/RKF9mAdBip
— LSU Tigers (@LSUsports) October 11, 2016
LSU Tigers took to Twitter to say that they “are deeply saddened to have lost our beloved live tiger mascot after a four-month battle with cancer.” Football fans and animal lovers were asked to share their memories of the tiger mascot by way of tribute as there won’t a formal memorial service for the tiger.
Dr. Baker also announced that the university has asked him to begin searching animal rescue facilities for a new tiger. As we have seen during the controversy surrounding Seaworld’s breeding program for Orcas, the keeping of wild animals for entertainment purposes is increasingly controversial. The Guardian reported that Seaworld had ended the practice after pressure from the public and animal welfare groups.
Replacing the LSU tiger with another live tiger is likely to prove equally controversial. It seems that not all LSU Alumni are happy about the search for a new tiger. LSU student Andrea Amar has started a petition demanding that the LSU end the practice of using a live tiger as a mascot.
Just some thoughts I had in this Lowe Column about why everyone at #LSU loves "Our Mike."https://t.co/di79hbXZwH
— Kent Lowe (@lsukent) October 11, 2016
In a petition that has already attracted almost 110,000 signatures, Amar called for an end to the use of live animal mascots at all universities.
“The search is beginning for a new live mascot.
“While the university has done a wonderful job improving the quality of the tiger’s enclosure, increasing its size and improving the variety of outdoor activities for the tiger, it is cruel to sentence another tiger to a life confined in a limited space only to be allowed outside for display at football games for entertainment.
“Beyond the confinement of one animal, buying tigers encourages the breeding of tiger cubs outside species survival management plans, and feeds into the black market for tiger meat, furs, and tiger bone wine.
“Now is the perfect opportunity to end the use of live tigers as mascots for the school. This practice of using live animals as mascots needs to end at all colleges and universities.”
According to The Advocate, Amar is far from the only one who wants to see an end to the practice of using a live tiger as a mascot. Debra Leahy, an expert in captive wildlife protection with the Humane Society of the United States, claims that LSU will only be able to obtain a tiger from “shady” sources.
“No reputable zoo and no reputable sanctuary is going to give a tiger to LSU. The only source could be a shady pseudo-sanctuary or a roadside zoo, but by perpetuating the live mascot, they are participating in exotic animal trade.”
They also claim that in the past “LSU has gotten its tigers from zoos or from two animal sanctuaries, both of which have since been shut down by the federal government for failing to provide proper care.”
[Featured Image by Alex Brandon/AP]
