A live tiger will attend Saturday’s Alabama-LSU game at the behest of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who has repeatedly lobbied this year to bring a big cat back to the school’s sideline despite criticism from animal rights groups. The re-introduction of an LSU tiger has become more controversial because of who has been caring for it.
The Bengal tiger, a one-and-a-half-year-old cub named Omar Bradley, has been under the care of Mitchel Kalmanson, who is a target of federal scrutiny for alleged mistreatment of the exotic animals he owns through an insurance company.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) published a five-page list of federal citations against Kalmanson from 2000 through this past May, positioning him as someone who does not meet the standards of the Animal Welfare Act. The citations range from lacking proper documentation for animals to not properly securing holdings during events to severe animal abuse and neglect.
“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 said.
In May, Kalmanson was barred from bringing tigers to a car show in Fayetteville, Ga., hosted by rapper/entrepreneur Rick Ross, as it would have violated a local ordinance.
A representative for LSU didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Kalmanson’s track record or the controversy surrounding the live tiger’s imminent appearance.
For years, LSU routinely brought live tigers to football games as a school tradition, where they would sit in a trailer on the sidelines as part of the pageantry of Tiger Stadium (and perhaps to intimidate visiting teams). However, that changed in 2015 when Mike VI had unpleasant reactions to the sounds and sights around him during pre-game festivities, and it was challenging for his handlers to put him back in the trailer.
Mike VI attended 33 of LSU’s 58 home games from 2007 through 2015. He died from a rare cancer in 2016.
The school decided to not bring Mike VII, a now 8-year-old Bengal tiger, to games when he was adopted as a cub. Mike VII has been LSU’s official mascot since 2017 and lives in an enclosure next to the stadium.
Landry, the first-year Republican governor, created an unofficial committee to speak with LSU’s veterinary school about bringing a live tiger to a game, but the school rebuffed requests that it would be Mike VII. In an Oct. 1 report from the Associated Press, Landry made it known that he wanted LSU to revive the tradition, telling reporters that “I think the opportunity to bring our mascot back onto that field is an unbelievable opportunity.” Landry also dismissed concerns from PETA and others about animal welfare, saying “everybody that has some anxiety over this needs to calm down.”
