Louisiana Governor’s PAC Paid for Controversial LSU Tiger

Louisiana governor Jeff Landry used his personal political action committee to fund the live tiger that appeared on LSU’s sidelines in the game against Alabama.

Protect Louisiana Values is a political action committee backing Landry, and a letter from LSU’s general counsel sent to the group outlines the terms of the agreement.

The Advocate first reported the news.

PACs are generally not required to disclose their donors.

The governor orchestrated the tradition’s revival, bringing a live tiger to an LSU football game for the first time since 2015. He first tried to get the university’s official live mascot, Mike VII, before pivoting to a tiger from a private company in Florida. That cat’s handler, Mitchel Kalmanson, has a history of animal rights violations. After the blowout 42–13 loss on Nov. 9, Landry called critics of the spectacle “woke people” and said his tiger “unfortunately, disappointingly, was the only tiger who showed up Saturday.”

In the letter, the university’s VP of legal affairs and general counsel, Winston DeCuir Jr., authorizes Dominick Latino of Protect Louisiana Values to bring a live tiger for a “pregame presentation” before the Alabama-LSU game. Latino appears to be a new figure on the Louisiana political scene. He’s a lawyer in Mandeville, La., “but is not known in political circles” there, according to The Advocate.

For days after the tiger stunt, local reporters had pressed Landry’s office and LSU for details on who paid for the tiger and its care. Landry maintained that no state or university money was involved; it’s still not clear how much money was exchanged.

The contract between DeCuir and Latino shows LSU required that the PAC would have to ensure total cooperation with football operations staff (including potentially canceling the showing at any point), proof of insurance worth at least $3 million, all the necessary permits, and a trained handler with the tiger at all times. In return, the university would provide a “secure indoor climate-controlled location” where the tiger could stay, in its cage, from Nov. 7 to Nov. 11, stadium credentials for the people accompanying the tiger, and an escort to and from the game. Both DeCuir and Latino’s signatures are at the bottom of the document.

The website for Protect Louisiana Values includes a news release touting the return of Mike the Tiger to Death Valley published on Nov. 8. At that point, it was already confirmed that Kalmanson’s tiger, Omar Bradley, would be used instead of Mike VII.

This isn’t the first time Landry’s political donors have supported something other than his campaigns. The first-term governor, elected in October 2023, was flagged by the state’s ethics board in August of last year for one of multiple instances of accepting private plane rides from top donors. At the time, he labeled the charge as “election interference,” blaming the incumbent Democratic governor (who was not running for reelection).

PETA is still claiming the entire spectacle violated Louisiana laws. The advocacy group filed a complaint with the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and upholds that Kalmanson’s USDA Class C exhibitor’s license does not exempt him from regulations because the game did not qualify as a circus.