Animal advocacy group PETA has sent a letter to NCAA Southeastern Conference (SEC) Commissioner Greg Sankey saying the University of Texas (Utah) Austin will be hosting a live longhorn beetle mascot, Bebo, at Friday's Cotton Bowl Classic game against Ohio State. '' was requested to be prevented from being brought in. University.
Texas State's 15th Longhorn, Bevo XV, will represent UT Austin as the athletic program's live mascot. debut According to , it happened in the 2016 season opener against Notre Dame. austin american politician.
Although he is a much-loved animal among Longhorn fans, prohibited Event organizers said in a statement that the event will be canceled starting with December's Peach Bowl due to “not enough space on the sidelines at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
The large animal caused controversy in 2019 when it charged the University of Georgia's (UGA) live bulldog mascot, Uga.
Citing these events: letter PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Lyman told Sankey, “We are extremely concerned that Bebo will be competing in this Friday's Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium.”
“Bebo is not a prop, and subjecting him to the stress of being packed up and dragged from town to town and paraded on the sidelines is not only cruel, it's a recipe for disaster,” Lyman said. , requested the SEC. So that the Longhorns will utilize a human mascot instead.
“Ethical professional teams like the Dallas Cowboys use costumed human mascots rather than animals,” the letter claims.
“The fear and stress that Bebo will undoubtedly experience on Friday and having a 1,700-pound longhorn bull on the sideline puts all players, staff, cheerleaders, media and fans at risk,” the organization said in a statement. Please take this into consideration,” he concluded.
Neither Sankey nor UW-Austin have responded to PETA's request, and Bebo is already on his way to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, according to Instagram Story posts.
