Shocking moment LSU brings a tiger onto the field in ‘cruel and dangerous’ stunt before Alabama game

LSU caused controversy by dragging a caged Bengal tiger onto the field in front of 100,000 fans. alabama on Saturday night.

For the first time in nearly a decade, a live tiger is part of the Baton Rouge Games.

louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry has reportedly led efforts to restart disruptive behavior in schools. caused a fierce backlash Among fans and activists.

The move prompted PETA to issue a scathing statement on Saturday declaring the stunt “cruel and dangerous.”

But LSU fans loudly applauded the tiger, which reportedly belongs to a former circus performer accused of animal cruelty.

LSU controversially brought a live, caged tiger onto the field before its game against Alabama.

The 100,000 fans in attendance were thrilled as LSU revived a famous old tradition.

The tiger, which was lying down at first, soon began walking in a circle in front of the fans.

As the tiger was led out into the field with a black curtain drawn over its cage, a large display board played a short video detailing the history of LSU’s live mascot.

As the stadium lights dimmed and the curtain was lifted, a spotlight shone on the cage, revealing the tiger inside as many fans cheered.

At first the tiger lay down, but then it started walking in a circle. A few minutes later, Cage was moved out of the arena during pre-match festivities.

That tiger was not a tiger on campus, Mike VII.

Following the death of the school’s former Tiger Mike VI in 2016, LSU announced that future Mike the Tigers would no longer take the field.

Mike VI, who died of a rare form of cancer, attended 33 of 58 homes from 2007 to 2015, according to the school’s website.

The university’s current live mascot, Mike VII (an 8-year-old, 345-pound tiger donated to the school from a sanctuary in 2017), is not brought to the stadium for games, but visitors can still see the 15,000-pound tiger . It is a square foot enclosure on campus adjacent to the stadium.

As a workaround, Landry arranged for a tiger to be imported from Florida for the match. This was much to the chagrin of animal rights activists who protested outside the stadium.

LSU put on a mouth-watering showdown against Alabama on Saturday night at Tiger Stadium.

The owner, Mitchell Kalmanson, was accused of not only failing to properly feed the big cat, but also locking it in a vehicle filled with maggots, food waste and feces. On two occasions, his tigers also escaped.

“Pushing a stressed tiger across state lines into an empty box in a noisy football stadium is not only cruel and dangerous, it is illegal in Louisiana,” Clayton Rutherford, deputy director of captive wildlife research at the PETA Foundation, said in a statement to DailyMail.com. It appears to be.

‘So it’s no surprise that only a mean showman like Mitchel Kalmanson would do it.

PETA has filed an emergency complaint with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries asking them to pursue every possible remedy against Kalmanson for this cheap action, ignoring the Louisiana Governor’s bizarre and illegal orders that LSU is bringing to their attention, and this idea. urged to reject it. Bringing suffering wildlife into the game.’

Kalmanson is associated with the Lester Kalmanson Agency, which specializes in providing animals to circuses and zoos and transporting exotic wild animals.

According to the agency’s websiteKalmanson has previously provided circus animals throughout the United States, Mexico, South Africa and Europe.

He also transported lions to Paris, pandas to Southeast Asia, and Russian-Siberian foxes around the world.

Mitchel Kalmanson (right) has faced numerous animal cruelty charges in recent decades.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has been pushing for the return of the Tigers at LSU games.

In 2003 and 2004 According to PETAHis tiger escaped during a circus performance. Then, in 2006, two cubs developed bone disease because they were not fed properly. One died.

In 2015, Kalmanson prevented the tiger from its daily exercise and confined it in a dirty vehicle, according to a USDA inspection report.

It is said that it took 10 hours to bring the tiger from Florida to Baton Rouge. The animal was named Omar Bradley after the legendary US Army general.

According to the LSU Tiger Athletic Foundation website, ‘LSU has not purchased a tiger since Mike III in 1958, and LSU does not support the breeding of tigers for profit.

‘LSU hopes to raise awareness of the problem of irresponsible breeding and the plight of illegally and/or improperly captured tigers in the United States by providing homes for tigers in need.

‘The tiger habitat and LSU’s animal conservation plan are licensed by the USDA. The facility, its tigers and its animal care programs are inspected annually to ensure compliance with federal animal welfare laws and other USDA policies and guidelines.’