It's pretty common to see a college team using a live animal as their mascot. Ralphie the Buffalo leads Colorado's football team onto the field, for example, and a succession of bulldogs named Uga have inspired Georgia. It's not quite as common in the NFL, though. Most of the time NFL players and animals meet up, the consequences aren't that great for either side. The Ravens are trying to change that, however, by using a pair of actual ravens as part of pre-game festivities. That caught the eye of PETA who are urging the team to rethink their plan.
"[The] bright lights, screaming fans, and loud noises - such as air horns, bands, and amplified sound systems - are terrifying for animals who can't possibly understand what is going on. Regardless of how these birds are trained, they are likely to be severely distressed by the overwhelming confusion of the situation."Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun asks a good question: Why should they be treated any differently than Kyle Boller?
I'm all for treating animals with respect but judging from the amount of birds that seem to make their homes in stadiums, this seems a bit overblown. They might lack understanding of what's going on but that doesn't seem to affect them enough to steer clear of loud, bright places. The Ravens appear to agree and indicated that they won't be changing their plans.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-02-2008 @ 11:14AM
Jan said...
The only birds the Ravens should worry about will be from the fans. What a ridiculous idea this is, who is the moron resoinsible for this and what is he smoking?
They should be worried about the upcoming football season and forget about training birds. Maybe they can swoop down on bad plays for a special "deposit" on the players.
I think they have been watching too much Alfred Hitchcock but I did get a big laugh of the day from this.
Jan in Beaver, Utah
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7-02-2008 @ 2:33PM
soulcitysigma1914 said...
this is so stupid on PETA's part. I remember one NFL team actually recently considered taking action and killing birds that pooped all over the stadium and on fans(it was either the bengals or eagles). If a bird is in the city, it's going to be around large noise, screaming, cars driving and horns blowing and so on. The birds ain't scared. The Humane Society has done some great work on behalf of animals in this country, but i haven't the slightest clue what PETA has truly accomplished for our animals friends, if anything
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7-02-2008 @ 7:11PM
Steve said...
Peta needs to drop off the face of the map
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