Gov. Jeff Landry talked to LSU officials about bringing Mike the Tiger back to the field this football season, but the LSU Vet School says it has no plans to do so, the reported this week.Â
Landry and other state officials, including Republican surgeon general Ralph Abraham, met recently with Oliver Garden, the dean of LSU's School of Veterinary Medicine. During the meeting, they discussed having Mike return to the field, the Illuminator said.
A spokesperson for the Vet School said the school would not be bringing Mike VII to games and "is not in discussions to bring Mike to any games this season," the Illuminator story said.Â
Before Mike VII, a Bengal/Siberian mixed tiger, became LSU's mascot in 2017, his predecessors had been taken to the sidelines of home games in a trailer. Some of the tiger mascots traveled to away games.
LSU said that "responsible care" for Mike and the university's decision to seek accreditation as a tiger sanctuary played a part in discontinuing the practice.Â
Animal rights activists have protested LSU keeping a tiger on campus.Â
Mike lives in a 15,000-square-foot habitat located between Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
