Mascots

When Animals Are Reduced to Good-Luck Charms

My high-school mascot was a turkey. This unlikely talisman was chosen because my town was once “the poultry capital of the United States.” Our community’s claim to fame was having raised and killed more chickens and turkeys than any other, and almost everyone I knew had some connection to the industry. Whenever our football players (“the Gobblers”) were on a winning streak, someone would show up with a live turkey painted with our school’s signature green and gold.

Mascots, by definition, are thought to bring good luck. They are human, animal or object — and mascots can be used to represent a school sports team or a military or other organization. Most often, at least in North America, mascots are associated with teams. While most have humans dress up as their respective mascot, some parade their live animal mascots at games.

The tradition of using real animals as mascots lives on at Baylor University, a private, Baptist school in Waco, Texas. Since 1914, the college has kept live bears on campus. They’ve had more than 50.^[1] Currently, two bears live in an outdoor enclosure on campus. In a bizarre defense of this cruel custom, Baylor claims it’s providing an education about bears.

To imprison or display such a being, who is now forced to relate to humans and depend on us for survival, is not education; it’s wanton disregard for a fellow animal.

Baylor University hires a professional trainer to break the bears’ spirits. Then, the bears will spend their lives placating our desire to play voyeur to an animal who, in nature, we’d want to avoid. Their situations contradict the university’s claim that “the bears enjoy what they do here at Baylor, and we in turn respect and love them.”^[2] They are prisoners, performers, playthings.

Bears in nature roam and forage in large, forested areas. They swim for pleasure and for food. They climb trees. They hibernate for three to five months of the year, protecting their young. Only in their natural habitat can they exist as bears — autonomous and free.

Baylor University , of course, is not the only school to use animal mascots. Some schools bring the animals to parades; others keep live animals in cages on campus, where fans and students can gawk at them. The Colorado Buffaloes keep a live buffalo on campus; Texas State University has a Texas longhorn steer. The University of Memphis uses a live tiger; the University of North Alabama keeps a lion on campus; Southern University and A&M College have had jaguars. USA Today has called mascots “key symbols of multimillion-dollar college sports enterprises.”^[3] Any money you give to an athletic team with a live animal directly supports the captivity.

No animal deserves the fate of a mascot on parade or in a cage. The only way to put an end to this abysmal tradition is to hold the offending institutions accountable. If a college or university in your area keeps a live mascot, voice your disapproval. Write letters to the president of the school; send letters to the editor of your local newspaper. Make people aware. Educate.

As a staffer here at Friends of Animals, I’ve had the unique experience of visiting Primarily Primates, our refuge in San Antonio, Texas, through which we care for more than 400 animals who’ve been made dependent by humans. The best-case scenario for mascots such as captive birds or big cats is a transfer to a sanctuary that can provide life-long care; a place where they live their remaining days in the most naturalistic setting possible.

Listed below are the educational institutions discussed in this article. Please let them know that their keeping and showcasing of live animals is demeaning, unnatural and inhumane — regardless of the length of a school’s tradition or the conditions in which these animals are kept.

Baylor University
Ken Starr, President
One Bear Place #97096
Waco , TX 76798-7096
Phone: (254) 710-3555

The Chamber of Commerce is also responsible for administering the bear program at Baylor; you can phone them at (254) 710-3322.

The University of Memphis
Houses a live Bengal tiger on campus, named Tom III. The tiger is brought to all home football games.
Shirley C. Raines, President
The University of Memphis
341 Administration Building
Memphis , TN 38152
Phone: (901) 678-2234
E-mail: president.uofm@memphis.edu

University of North Alabama
Houses two lions on campus: Leo III and Una. The college has housed a live lion on campus since 1974.
Dr. William G. Cale Jr., President
UNA Box 5004
110 Bibb Graves Hall
Florence, AL 35632-0001
Phone: (256) 765-4211
E-mail: wgcale@una.edu

Southern University and A&M College

 Traditionally houses a live jaguar on campus. Since the passing of the last jaguar, they are currently raising funds to both renovate the enclosure and also to purchase a new jaguar. Please encourage Southern University to abandon this dreadful custom:
Dr. Ronald Mason Jr., President
Southern University System
Baton Rouge , Louisiana 70813
Phone: (225) 771-4680

Footnotes