Former Georgia football players tell PETA to ‘chill out’ on its criticism of live mascot

After the College of Georgia gained its second consecutive nationwide championship, PETA referred to as consideration to the college’s use of a dwell bulldog for a mascot.

The group claimed final month the college’s use of Uga “drives demand for breathing-impaired breeds (BIBs),” like pugs, boxers and English and French bulldogs.”

The animal rights group referred to as on the college to discontinue its use of Uga and to be “a winner not solely in soccer but additionally in its remedy of” animals.

Two former Bulldog gamers snapped again at PETA and defended the usage of Uga.

“I don’t suppose of us understand how good of a life Uga lives,” former punter Tavarres King informed TMZ Sports activities. “That canine’s liked, bro. Relax, PETA.”

Former operating again Knowshon Moreno echoed King’s feedback.

“You’d be eliminating a number of custom,” he mentioned. “I really feel like these pets dwell the perfect lives. … Uga dwell the life.”

Uga would possibly even get higher remedy on highway journeys than the gamers, King mentioned.

“Even on away video games, you get on the airplane. Uga’s the primary seat on the airplane. … Uga’s very properly handled,” he added.

PETA wrote that utilizing a dwell mascot is “outdated.”

“Because the back-to-back nationwide champion, can’t UGA discover it in its coronary heart to actually look at the influence of its promotion of deformed canines and name time on its outdated, live-animal mascot program?” PETA Govt Vice President Tracy Reiman mentioned in an announcement obtained by Fox Information Digital final month. “PETA is asking on (College of Georgia president) Jere Morehead to be a peach and exchange poor Uga with a human mascot who can help the staff in a profitable method.

“PETA — whose motto reads, partly, that ‘animals will not be ours to make use of for leisure’ and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview — notes that Uga is a dwelling, feeling being, not a toy to be carted to chaotic soccer stadiums throughout the nation and trotted out in entrance of scores of screaming followers.”

Regardless of a number of pleas from the group, it doesn’t appear to be there will likely be a change. 

“We’re happy with our beloved mascot and grateful for the superb care offered by Uga’s devoted house owners, the Seiler household,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks mentioned in an announcement final month to Fox Information Digital.

There have been 10 “Ugas” for the reason that mascot was first launched in 1956, every a descendant of the unique Uga.