By Laura Goldman From Care2

Before the Sugar Bowl kicked off in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, fans loudly cheered and camera flashbulbs popped as the two teams’ mascots were brought onto the football field for what was apparently conceived to be a cute meet-and-greet. Bevo XV, a 1,700-pound longhorn steer, is the mascot for the University of Texas, while University of Georgia mascot Uga X, an English bulldog, weighs…well, considerably less.

The cheers turned into gasps when Bevo knocked down a barricade and bolted toward Uga. Fortunately, the bulldog’s handler, Charles Seiler, was able to quickly help him get out of harm’s way.

“He heard it and he didn’t wait,” Seiler told ESPN. “He ran. And I ran.”

Bevo did, however, make contact with some people in the crowd. His horn scratched the back of Nick Wagner, a photojournalist for the Austin American-Statesman.

The Longhorns may have wanted to figuratively kill the Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl, but one of Bevo’s six handlers, Ricky Brennes, insisted their mascot had no intention of literallykilling Uga X.

“He had kind of gone up and bumped the barricade a few times before,” Brennes toldCBS News. “He ran through the gate and into where Uga’s area was. It really was more just unfortunate timing and he wasn’t aware Georgia’s mascot was there. It had nothing to do with the dog.”

Texas athletics spokesman John Bianco told CBS News that safety and security measures were in place for Bevo, including six handlers, two halters and two chains—and yet the longhorn steer still managed to break free.

This wasn’t the first time one of the University of Texas’ longhorn steer mascots, which have been around since 1916, has misbehaved, as Dan Patterson pointed out in Texas Monthly. “This act of aggression from a mascot was thrilling to watch, especially as no creature was seriously hurt in the attack,” Patterson wrote – but I think a lot of us would beg to differ. Previous Bevos have charged a cheerleader and band members, while another escaped his enclosure and wandered around the campus for two days.

It should be noted that in November, there was no bad Bevo behavior when the University of Texas played at the University of Kansas’ stadium. That’s because Kansas has the good sense to ban live animal mascots, so the longhorn steer was not allowed to attend the game.

Just three days before the Sugar Bowl, there was another scary incident involving a live animal at the Cotton Bowl. After the national anthem, a bald eagle named Clark flew around the AT&T stadium in Arlington, Texas, and was supposed to return to his handler. But instead, Clark flew into the stands, frightening a few spectators before landing on the arm of a Notre Dame fan, Tuyen Nguyen, who remained remarkably calm.

After Uga VII died suddenly of a heart attack in 2009, PETA suggested that the University of Georgia replace their mascot with an unharmable robot dog. That idea never came to fruition, but these scary incidents 10 years later show why we should no longer use live animals as mascots or entertainment, for the safety of the animals as well as the people in attendance.

TAKE ACTION!

Please sign and share this petition urging the National Collegiate Athletic Association to stop using live animals at sporting events.

If you want to make a difference on an issue you find deeply troubling, you too can create a Care2 petition, and use this handy guide to get started. You‘ll find Care2‘s vibrant community of activists ready to step up and help you.

For more on this story go to: https://www.care2.com/causes/georgia-bulldog-mascot-nearly-gored-by-texas-longhorn-steer-mascot.html