Tell LSU to Stop Exploiting Tigers!

[admin]

http://www.peta.org/action/action-alert ... -sidelines
Update: Months ago, when we learned that Mike VI, Louisiana State University's (LSU) tiger mascot, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, we urged the school to ensure that he would be the last tiger to endure a lifetime of exploitation and confinement at LSU. Now, Mike VI is dead. Please help us renew our call for the school to do right by Mike VI and all the Mikes who came before him by using only willing, costumed human mascots from now on.

What do captive, caged tigers have to do with Louisiana State University (LSU) football? Oh, that's right: nothing. But LSU has been exploiting tigers for years as it drags the newest version of Mike the tiger, a live tiger mascot, into the stadium for football games. The school is currently on its sixth Mike, as five other tigers by the same name have come and gone before him, and Mike VI was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. There has never been a more opportune time to end animal abuse at LSU.

Captive big cats, who naturally shun human contact, are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them. They live in perpetual states of confinement, discomfort, and stress and, at LSU games, are subjected to a constant barrage of disorienting lights and activity. They often become despondent and develop neurotic and self-destructive types of behavior, including pacing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation. Tigers are particularly unsuited to captivity because they require large areas to roam and opportunities to swim and climb. Even under the best of care, a tiger's most basic instincts are thwarted in captivity.

It's time for LSU to recognize society's growing disdain for animal exploitation and bring a new tradition to the university—one that uses only willing, costumed human mascots. Join us in urging LSU officials to make Mike VI the last of the school's live mascots.