At the behest of Louisiana governor Jeff Landry, LSU for the first time since 2015 on Saturday wheeled out a caged tiger prior to the school's rivalry football game against Alabama.
The stunt sparked a furious backlash from animal rights activists and others who disagreed with what PETA said in a statement was a "cruel and dangerous" act.
The tiger, which was met with cheers from LSU fans, reportedly belongs to a former circus performer who has faced a number of federal animal abuse allegations.
According to the Daily Mail, the tiger's owner, Mitchel Kalmanson, is accused of failing to properly feed big cats, as well as keeping them in a vehicle with maggots, food waste and excrement. On two occasions, his tigers have escaped.
"At Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s heartless request, Louisiana State University (LSU) is reportedly planning to revive a cruel school legacy by forcing a live tiger to endure the intense stress of being crammed into a transport cage and surrounded by a stadium full of fans at football games," PETA wrote in a statement on its website leading up to the game. "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."
Following LSU carrying out the stunt, PETA released a post-game statement, saying the tiger used by LSU was "apparently imported illegally."
"Omar Bradley, the tiger at today’s Louisiana State University (LSU) football game, was provided by Mitchel Kalmanson, a notorious animal exhibitor who has racked up a litany of violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act spanning nearly 25 years," PETA wrote in a statement. "Kalmanson’s federal citations include multiple incidents in which tigers he owned escaped during performances, and this year he’s already been cited for being unable to provide records showing animals were receiving adequate veterinary care. Additionally, Louisiana state law prohibits big cats, including tigers, from being imported into the state without a specific exemption, which Kalmanson apparently does not have and isn’t eligible for."
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PETA went on to call the act antiquated and out of touch.
"LSU dropped the dangerous and barbaric tradition of bringing a live tiger to games nearly a decade ago on the advice of its own veterinarians. Since then, the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act and the public’s growing outrage at the use and abuse of animals for entertainment have made it clear that such ridiculous Tiger King-style displays are regressive and out of touch—and LSU’s own fans agree."
