Stop the Caging of Tigers at LSU

Big cats in captivity are denied everything that is natural and important to them, such as the opportunity to run, climb, hunt, establish their territory, and choose their mates," wrote Lisa Wathne, a specialist for PETA on captive exotic animals. Exotic animals don't belong at football games or in a cage on a college campus. Let's remember the tradition, but do away with the creulty of keeping a live animal hostage. If LSU purchases a tiger cub, a newborn tiger will be forcibly removed from his or her mother within days of birth. It is unjust to cage any animal whether it be a zoo or a kennel in someone's backyard. Exotic animals should be in their own environment. In October 2003, the journal Nature reported Oxford University researchers' finding that large, roving predators -- such as tigers -- show stereotypical symptoms of stress when they are kept in captivity because they are unable to satisfy their instinct to roam. Let's stop this tradition, and let Mike the Tiger live on in our memories not in a cage. If the animal had a choice, I'm sure that it would not choose to be in a 15,000 square foot cage. It would rather be in his own environment 15,000 square miles somewhere.