Who is responsible for the risk of a live tiger being present at the LSU-Alabama game? Nobody will tell

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Louisiana porthole) – The owner of a live Bengal tiger slated to appear at Saturday’s LSU-Alabama game has a history of his big cats escaping due to employee mistakes.

The university and Gov. Jeff Landry’s office have not said who will be held responsible for the accidents of Omar Bradley, a 18-month-old tiger being transported from Florida to attend the game. Landry and Surgeon General Ralph Abraham are pushing to return the live mascot to the fields at Tiger Stadium.

After illuminator has confirmed that a live tiger will appear in Baton Rouge for the LSU-Alabama game on Saturday, Fox 8 has confirmed that the tiger is being supplied by Mitchell Kalmanson, who has a long history of federal animal cruelty charges.

Kalmanson owns several businesses in Florida, including exotic animal search agencywhich rents out live tigers and other animals for circuses and events, and also operates a company that sells liability insurance for exotic animals. illuminator left a message at Kalmanson’s office, which has not yet been returned.

LSU officials Todd Woodward and Zach Labbe did not respond to four emails sent since Wednesday afternoon seeking comment on who would be responsible for the tiger and what insurance would be required for it. Kate Kelly, a spokeswoman for the governor, declined an initial request for comment and did not respond to messages asking who pays for the insurance or whether Landry knows about Kalmanson’s story.

It is unknown whether taxpayers or private donors will fund insurance and other tiger-related expenses.

In addition to two reports of escapes, as well as insufficient barriers between tigers and the public, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals found numerous USDA citations against Kalmanson 24 years ago on charges of cruelty to wild animals in his care.

The charges include neglecting to provide veterinary care, improper feeding, failure to provide adequate space for animals, inadequate record keeping and prohibiting inspectors from checking animals.

“It is disgraceful and inconsistent with today’s respect for wild species that LSU has bowed to Governor Landry’s campaign to display a live tiger at football games to entertain fans,” said Clayton Rutherford, deputy director of wildlife research at PETA. in a statement for Enlightener. “Whether the tiger is kept on campus or brought in from another location, no reputable institution would subject a tiger to such chaos and stress, and PETA and its nearly 50,000 supporters have already urged Landry to relax and leave the big cats alone—and is now urging LSU grow a spine and just say no.

Landry’s original request was for LSU to bring its live tiger mascot Mike VII to games. Previous Tigers have attended LSU football games, most recently Mike VI in 2015. LSU announced it was ending the tradition when it adopted Mike VII in 2017 for humanitarian reasons.

Landry did not attend LSU, but claims to have been a lifelong LSU football fan.

“We’re hoping that maybe we can make that tiger roar a couple of times and that will show how many touchdowns we’ll have and it’ll be more than Alabama,” Landry said Friday in an interview with Fox News.

Previous Mikes were provoked into roaring while being slammed against the cage and taunted by costumed Tiger mascot Mike, a practice discontinued by LSU.

Abraham told Fox News that he met with Omar Bradley on Thursday night. He said the tiger was comfortable around people and was well cared for.

“As a veterinarian and physician, I couldn’t think of a better day to literally and figuratively become a tiger,” Abraham said in a statement to Fox News.

Mike VI didn’t attend games often. LSU veterinary school spokeswoman Ginger Guttner said in a September statement that he had adverse reactions to visual and auditory stimuli during pregame festivities and became reluctant to enter the cage trailer for the game.

LSU Tiger Stadium is known for its loudness, and pregame festivities include loud music and fireworks.

The news of Omar Bradley’s visit was met with mixed reactions on social media.

Some diehard fans noted that he was not Mike, the beloved mascot, and suggested that his presence could interfere with rivalry play. Some users on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, called Omar Bradley a “lousy tiger,” referring to a derogatory nickname for a worker who crosses a picket line.

Others praised Landry and expressed joy at seeing the tiger back at the stadium after many years.

Louisiana porthole is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. For questions, contact editor Greg LaRose: [email protected]. Follow the Louisiana Illuminator at Facebook And X.

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