As an LSU student, I find it hard to fully accept the fact that we have a LIVE tiger living on campus. WHY? purely for entertainment? For many years, this has been tradition, but perhaps, entering into 2017, this tradition should perish.
Mike The Tiger VI, has been diagnosed with cancer and has about 2 months to live. The audacity of LSU to immediately begin looking for a new tiger is compassionless.
I've watched Mike the Tiger pace the perimeter of his enclosure, going to the very furtherest corners as if hopelessly searching for another square inch.
If we separate ourselves from the cool idea of being able to visit an exotic animal free of cost then we might realize that:
1. THIS TIGER IS VERY UNHAPPY
2. SOUTH LOUISIANA IS NOT AN ENVIRONMENT FOR A BENGAL TIGER
3. LIVING IN SUCH A SMALL ENCLOSURE (approx. 14,000 sq. feet) IS BOTH STRESS AND DEPRESSION INDUCING
4. HE IS COMPLETELY STRIPPED OF HIS NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
5. HE HAS NO INTERACTION WITH OTHER TIGERS
6. THEY'RE FEEDING HIM THE SAME FOOD AS ZOO TIGERS (AND WE ALL KNOW ZOOS ARE NOT THE BEST PLACE FOR A TIGER)
7. LSU IS USING A TIGER AS A SOURCE OF ENTERTAINMENT
8. ON THE OCCASIONS THAT HE DOES BOARD THE CAGE AND IS BROUGHT INTO THE STADIUM AND SHOWN OFF AS A CIRCUS ACT, HE IS IN A VERY LOUD, DISTRESSING, AND TRAUMATIZING ENVIRONMENT
quote from PETA petition:
"As you likely know, big cats held in captivity are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them. They live in perpetual states of confinement, discomfort, and stress. And Mike is subjected to even more stress at LSU games as he's bombarded with a barrage of disorienting lights and activity. Captive tigers often become despondent and develop neurotic and self-destructive types of behavior, including pacing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation. Tigers need large areas to roam and opportunities to swim, hunt, and climb--but in captivity, they live in a state of extreme deprivation. I urge you to recognize the shift in public opinion and society's growing disdain for animal exhibition. Now is the time to bring a new tradition to LSU--one that uses only willing, costumed human mascots"
The argument that tigers live longer in captivity than in the wild does not justify forcing a tiger to live a boring, depressing, and unhealthy life.
Have some compassion for the tigers, and STOP LSU FROM USING LIVE TIGERS AS MASCOTS!!!
