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At Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s heartless request, Louisiana State University (LSU) has ignored the nearly universal public outcry—including a denunciation from the school’s own editorial board—by reviving a cruel school legacy of 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. 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.
After LSU’s own veterinarians reportedly declined Gov. Landry’s request to force Mike VII, the live tiger mascot who lives on campus, onto the sidelines, the seemingly desperate governor turned to Mitchel Kalmanson—a longtime circus exhibitor whose history includes decades of citations for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act over multiple tiger escapes, failing to provide adequate veterinary care, and providing such poor diets that lion cubs had to be hospitalized after developing painful metabolic bone disease, leading to one cub’s death. For the November 2024 football game, Kalmanson forced a one-year-old tiger named Omar Bradley to endure the 10-hour drive from Florida to LSU. Footage from the game documented Omar panting and pacing inside a tiny transport trailer. PETA filed a complaint with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries because, unsurprisingly, Kalmanson apparently brought Omar into the state illegally.
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. He reportedly even “became resistant to getting into a trailer cage to attend the game.” According to this same report, LSU’s own veterinarians and state Rep. Wayne McMahen—also a veterinarian—expressed to Landry that forcing another tiger into that situation would be inherently stressful and could have severe implications for the wild animal’s health.
Urge Landry and LSU to leave this cruel publicity stunt in the history books and leave tigers alone. Take action below, and follow up by leaving the Louisiana governor’s office a polite message at 225-342-0991.