The LSU Student Senate passed a resolution Wednesday evening urging LSU to prohibit all live tigers from entering Tiger Stadium.
The resolution, authored by Speaker Pro Tempore Ethan Elmer, a computer science junior, and co-sponsored by 14 other senators, passed unanimously and is to be sent to LSU President William F. Tate IV, LSU Athletics Director Scott Woodward and Gov. Jeff Landry among others.
This action by the senate comes in the wake of a months-long campaign by Landry for LSU to return its live mascot to the sidelines of Tiger Stadium during football games, culminating in the exhibition of a live tiger prior to LSU’s Nov. 9 game against Alabama.
The tiger was not the university’s official mascot Mike VII. It instead was Omar Bradley, a lesser-known cat belonging to Mitchel Kalmanson, a Florida-based exotic animal handler with a history of federal animal abuse violations.
In a Friday FOX News broadcast prior to the game, Landry had said bringing a live tiger on the field was to honor the legacy of Mike I to VI.
“Our hope is that maybe we can get this tiger to roar a couple of times,” Landry said on the broadcast.
Omar was wheeled out in a cage shortly before kickoff, remained visible on the sidelines for just under 10 minutes, then ultimately was moved back into the stadium tunnel and didn’t make a reappearance at the game.
Omar’s caged appearance inspired many cheers and boos from the crowd.
Donna Long, a natural resources ecology and management senior, spoke on behalf of herself and the LSU Wildlife Society, as well as mentioning “the greater community.” Long was accompanied by members of the Wildlife Society at the meeting.
“As a school that champions animal welfare through their animal and veterinary sciences programs, we should be ashamed of this choice, which puts the health and safety of a vulnerable species at risk,” Long said. “In LSU’s statement from 2017 when Mike VII arrived on campus, LSU declared their mission to raise awareness about the problem of tigers being kept inappropriately in captivity. By enabling Mitchel Kalmanson, who has been cited numerous times for the mistreatment of animals, especially tigers, this institution has directly contradicted its mission.”
There had been 28,000 combined signatures urging the university and Landry to rethink its decision of allowing the tiger on the field according to Long, calls that were ultimately ignored.
“LSU has always been a beacon of excellence, and it goes against our values to involve a live threatened species in our custody in a way that can lead to its stress or harm,” Long said.
College of Business Senator Corbitt Driskell, an economics senior, took the stand upon the floor being opened for debate, to stress the reasons for the original dismissal of this tradition.
According to Driskell, Nick Saban’s wife, Terry Saban, led the fundraising effort for Mike’s new habitat on one condition: The university was to give Mike VI the option of entering the cage, and not to force or coerce him into it.
By the time Mike VII came along, the tradition was abolished after it was determined the stress would be too much for him. A tiger hadn’t graced Death Valley in nearly a decade. The last one was wheeled out in 2015 (citation needed).
“On top of that, we had to expend a lot of resources for the cops and security guards outside of the cage at all times, outside of the enclosure, for the tiger that we trucked in from Florida,” Driskell said.
According to the Governor’s Office, no state or LSU funds were spent on Omar’s showcase. The office declined saying where the money originates.
The student senate’s passed resolution serves as a recommendation to the university administration and does not mandate implementation.
