Animal activists seize on Bevo/UGA incident in call to end live animal mascots

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Photo credit Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS/Sipa USA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals say an incident involving Bevo, the University of Texas' live longhorn steer mascot, at the Sugar Bowl on New Year's night shows why sports teams should end the practice of keeping live animals as their mascots.

A short while before kickoff between Texas and the Georgia Bulldogs, Georgia's live bulldog mascot UGA was walked over by the enclosure where Bevo was standing. While photographers gathered around the English bulldog to snap some photos, the 1,700-pound steer pushed its way through the barrier and sent people scattering.

BEVO GOES AFTER UGA: Viewer Shelly Krass captured the moment the Longhorns mascot got out of its pen and went toward Georgia's mascot ------ pic.twitter.com/M8K2EA7lml

— KXAN News (@KXAN_News) January 2, 2019

OMG this angle of Bevo and Uga pic.twitter.com/ez4aub88Ij

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) January 2, 2019

Bevo is not here for this mascot meeting. #HookEm pic.twitter.com/KXgaQzGm0W

— Danny Davis (@aasdanny) January 2, 2019

Calling it a "near-tragedy" in a blog post, a PETA writer decried the use of live animals like Bevo and UGA. 

"Live animals used as mascots, such as Baylor University’s bears and the University of North Alabama’s lions, are held in captivity and often denied the opportunity to fulfill many of their most basic instincts," the post states. "They’re frequently carted around to sporting events and public appearances, which are confusing and frightening for them."

PETA has frequently called on schools with live mascots to end the practice. The group urged LSU to do away with the tradition of Mike the Tiger before the university acquired Mike VII, the current live tiger that lives in an on-campus habitat just outside Tiger Stadium.

When you’re a Tiger, your scratching post needs to be Tiger-sized. pic.twitter.com/58BsqJHDan

— Mike VII (@MikeTheTiger) December 24, 2018