BATON ROUGE — A decision on whether Mike the Tiger will make a return to LSU's Tiger Stadium is best left to someone else, coach Brian Kelly said Thursday.

Gov. Jeff Landry this week suggested to the university that its live mascot return to Tiger home football games. The current mascot, 8-year-old Mike VII, has never attended a football game.

LSU holds a U.S. Department of Agriculture permit to house a tiger on campus and its habitat and care program are evaluated annually, the school said in 2017 as it searched for Mike VII. The school announced then that it would no longer take Mike into the stadium on game days, saying the "responsible care for live exotic animals has evolved throughout the years."

In years past, Mike was often parked in a concourse directly across from the visiting locker room so opposing football players would see the tiger just before taking the field. In pre-game routines, cheerleaders would often parade the tiger to the student section and pound on the cage to annoy Mike and elicit a roar.

Kelly said he wasn't in a position to take a stand.

"That is something that I'll let our university and those that are much more educated on that to come up with a statement  and make decisions on that," Kelly said. "That is something that I just don't have enough information on, thanks."

According to Louisiana Illuminator, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called the idea "boneheaded."

"Going back to the old days of using a wild animal as a sideline sideshow in 2024 is the last thing LSU should do," it said.