Animal rights group, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling for college football national champions, Georgia to stop the use of their live bulldog mascot, Uga. PETA cite concerns about a growing demand for breathing-impaired breeds like bulldogs and worries that Uga is promoting breeding of these types of dogs.
Uga should retire PETA says
PETA has penned a letter to Georgia asking the back-to-back national champions asking the school to retire their live bulldog mascot, Uga. In a letter to University of Georgia president Jere W. Morehead, PETA says that the school can be a winner in treatment of animals as well as football.
Call time on using a harmful, breeding-impaired dog as your mascot, @universityofga!
The use of Uga drives a demand for deformed dogs, like bulldogs, whose flattened faces cause breathing difficulties and immense suffering. “Hairy Dawg” for the win! https://t.co/4FjCRGfYDs pic.twitter.com/A3wLvniq0J
— PETA (@peta) January 13, 2023
“As the back-to-back national champion, can’t UGA find it in its heart to honestly examine the impact of its promotion of deformed dogs and call time on its outdated, live-animal mascot program?” PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman asks. “PETA is calling on Jere Morehead to be a peach and replace poor Uga with a human mascot who can support the team in a winning way.”
Treated like royalty
Uga, who is treated like a king, did not travel for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Instead, he watched from the comfort of home. The school said that the journey would have been too difficult for the beloved bulldog.
When Uga goes to watch games live, he travels in luxury. He has his own car that is air-conditioned especially for him, and on gameday it is the same. Uga has his own air-conditioned tent that he watches the game on the sideline from.
The current mascot is Uga X, and the bulldog has been a staple of UGA games since 1956.
PETA says that Uga is a ”living, feeling being, not a toy to be carted to chaotic football stadiums across the country and trotted out in front of scores of screaming fans.” However, Uga’s treatment is akin to more of royalty than a dog.
PETA’s concern about breathing-impaired dogs being bred in the US may be valid. The practice is banned in other countries, but it is unlikely Uga is going anywhere anytime soon, with the possible exception of more football games.
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