BEVO BEAT
Bevo banned? ESPN discusses PETA’s call for end of live mascots
Posted October 14th, 2016
Will Bevo XV be the last steer to attend Texas football games? If PETA has its way, yes. In light of the death of LSU’s mascot, Mike VI, the animal rights nonprofit group has called for the end of universities using live animal mascots to represent their sports teams.
The debate surrounding live college animal mascots…
Tomorrow 1PM ET @ESPN pic.twitter.com/SFtxSmg9ho— Outside The Lines (@OTLonESPN) October 13, 2016
Advertisement
The topic was discussed Friday on ESPN’s Outside the Lines. The program touched on what universities have mascots, and the beloved Texas longhorn was mentioned, including the trivia that Bevo I was the main course of the Texas football banquet in 1920 because food and care for the steer were too costly.
“I think he symbolizes what we’re all about,” Texas assistant coach Vance Bedford said in a recorded clip. “Something that’s strong and stands tall.”
RELATED COVERAGE: Welcome, Bevo XV: Sunrise Spur makes his debut as Texas’ mascot
OTL’s host, Bob Ley, interviewed PETA spokesperson Liam Cronin on the push for banning mascots. After citing Barnum & Bailey’s decision to get rid of elephants from its circuses this year, Cronin stated that ridding sidelines of Bevo, Colorado’s Ralphie and A&M’s Reveille among other mascots is “the next step on our march to stop having animals in these kinds of conditions.”
Cronin also believes a ban on live mascots will finally allow handlers to treat them like members of the family:
Should Colleges and Universities be allowed to have live animal mascots? pic.twitter.com/SKdzylocCe
— Outside The Lines (@OTLonESPN) October 14, 2016
Editor’s note: The original version of this story was edited to correct the name of Colorado’s mascot.
News on Bevo Beat is free and unlimited. Access to the rest of Hookem.com is included with an Austin American-Statesman subscription in addition to Statesman.com and the ePaper edition. Subscribe today at statesman.com/subscribe.
Comments