It appears that LSU will have a live tiger on the field for Saturday night’s game against Alabama.
Louisiana Illuminator, a Louisiana Radio Network news partner, broke the story Thursday, citing an interview that it did with State Sen. Bill Wheat, R-Ponchatoula.
Wheat told the Illuminator that the tiger was being brought in from out of state.
At the outset of this season, Gov. Jeff Landry had asked LSU to bring back a tradition that had been halted in 2015 and trot its live mascot, Mike VII, onto the field prior to home games.
The tradition was halted in 2015 due to the previous live tiger, Mike VI, having adverse reactions to visual and auditory stimuli prior to the game.
His final appearance on the Death Valley field was prior to the game against McNeese in 2015 that was ultimately called off due to lightning.
Mike VI died of cancer in 2016; and the following year, the school agreed not to have its new live mascot, Mike VII, take the field before football games.
Landry and three other conservative officials, including Sen. Wheat, met with Oliver Garden, the dean of the LSU school of veterinary medicine, back in early September, about trotting Mike VII onto the field.
Mike VII is eight years old, which is middle age for a tiger, and lives in a 15,000 sq. ft. habitat constructed just outside Tiger Stadium.
Just before the opening game against Nicholls, LSU said in a statement that LSU would not be trotting Mike VII onto the field for that game or any other home game, citing responsible care for exotic animals.
But apparently, LSU is caving in to Landry’s desires.
“We’re frankly dismayed that the school appears prepared to completely ignore those recommendations from the experts and to bring a tiger back into the stadium,” says Klayton Rutherford, associate director of captive wildlife research at the PETA Foundation.
That didn’t stop Landry and his quest to bring a tiger onto the field before an LSU home game.
Early in October, he spoke to a crowd on the campus to reiterate his desire to bring a tiger back out onto the field, this time not referencing Mike VII by name, garnering mixed reaction in the process.
“So, everybody that has some anxiety over this needs to calm down,” Landry told the crowd. “This is an opportunity for us to showcase the great work that y’all do academically and athletically.”
Since then, Landry had been negotiating with the school on how to bring a live tiger back onto the field, but it’s unclear whether this is the result of those negotiations or whether Landry is acting unilaterally.
“This is about tradition,” Landry said during an appearance on the Fox News Channel. “This is about from Mike I through VI, we have had a live mascot on the field, like many other colleges have before. Of course, we’re honoring those Mikes. And no one is going to take away the honor and respect and love that we have for Mike VII.
“Our hope is that maybe we can get this tiger to roar a couple times,” Landry continued, “and that’ll indicate how many touchdowns we’ll have, and that’ll be more than Alabama.”
Repeated efforts to reach LSU for confirmation, including media relations, the athletic department, the school of veterinary medicine and even the president’s office, have been unsuccessful.
Since the story broke, Louisiana Radio Network has since learned that the tiger being brought in is a 1.5-year-old Bengal named Omar Bradley, and he’s owned by Mitchel Kalmanson, 62, of Maitland, Fla., which is near Orlando.
Kalmanson owns an insurance company that, according to its website, insures rare and unusual risks, including exotic animals.
Kalmanson also has a lengthy rap sheet with PETA, with the organization listing more than three-dozen USDA violations since 2000.
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited him numerous times for failing to provide veterinary care, failing to provide animals with sufficient space to move around, failing to feed animals veterinarian-approved diets, and failing to have proper barriers and attendants present between animals and the public,” PETA stated on its fact sheet about Kalmanson.
“During performances with UniverSoul Circus in both 2003 and 2004, tigers owned by Kalmanson escaped because of employee errors,” the statement continued. “In 2006, Kalmanson failed to provide two lion cubs with a diet that was of sufficient nutritive value, resulting in metabolic bone disease, the hospitalization of both cubs, and the death of one cub.”
Other USDA citations against Kalmanson include purchasing a porcupine from an unlicensed dealer, failing to maintain a transport enclosure in good repair, and storing food near cans of paint and paint thinner.
Rutherford says Kalmanson’s history underscores the fact that this is, in his and his organization’s view, a bad idea.
“This really drives home the point that LSU and Governor Landry are making a grave mistake,” says Rutherford, “and they are endangering tigers when they’re claiming to celebrate them.”
Rutherford says no matter if the tiger is a year and a half old or eight years old as Mike VII is, tigers do not belong in 100,000-seat football stadiums.
“A football stadium is no place for a tiger, and PETA is calling on the school (and) the governor to leave tigers alone and drop this idea,” Rutherford says. “Tradition is never an excuse for cruelty, and no university should want to be associated with animal abuse.”
Louisiana Radio Network reached Kalmanson by phone as he was en route to Baton Rouge from Florida, but he refused comment.
Louisiana Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham issued a statement on the tiger’s appearance at the game.
“We had numerous discussions and took every step to ensure this was safe for the tiger,” said Dr. Abraham. “I spent several hours with the tiger last night and you could tell he was comfortable around people and enjoyed the attention. He’s in great health, well cared for by his owners and socially acclimated. As both a veterinarian and medical doctor, I couldn’t think of a better day to literally and figuratively be a tiger.”
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