- PETA wants the Western Bulldogs to change their name
- They claim that the club uses ‘deformed’ mascots
- Caesar and Sunny perform before Bulldogs home games
An AFL club has reportedly been urged to retire its mascots and change its name after receiving a complaint from animal welfare group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
The complaint, sent to the Western Bulldogs, related to what PETA described as their “deformed” mascots, Caesar and Sunny, who attend every home game dressed in Bulldogs gear.
PETA campaign adviser Mimi Bekhechi sent a letter to Bulldogs club president Kylie Watson-Wheeler urging the club to acknowledge the bulldog breed’s health problems and suggesting the club should change its name to Western Mutts to promote animal welfare.
PETA believes that the use of live mascots Caesar and Sunny normalizes and promotes the breeding of respiratory-challenged dog breeds that suffer from serious health problems and deformities.
“Extremely short snouts mean suffering,” Bekhechi reportedly said in the letter.
‘By exhibiting Caesar and Sunny at games and events and promoting their breeder, the team is, albeit unwittingly, supporting the intentional breeding of dogs with painful and debilitating deformities.’
PETA offered to contribute to the costs of the rebranding, arguing that by changing its name the club would promote homeless animals.
“We have a suggestion that would modernize the image of the Western Bulldogs: retire Caesar and Sunny and change the name of the club to ‘Western Mutts,'” PETA said in the letter.
PETA urges Western Bulldogs to change club name
Animal welfare group says club should not use ‘deformed’ Cesar as mascot
‘By not promoting dog breeds with breathing problems (BIB) … you would avoid normalizing their suffering and instead help advocate for adorable and unique mixed breed dogs, who typically live longer and are healthier than their flat-faced cousins.
‘By handing over Cesar and Sunny’s pet duties to their volunteer human-disguised pets and renaming the team ‘Western Mutts,’ she would be taking a stand against the ‘pedigree’ dog breeding industry while advocating for the adoption of wonderful mixed breeds and other homeless animals.’
The club told News Corp they were not aware of a letter from PETA and decided not to comment on the matter.
Animal nicknames are common features of most Australian sporting clubs, although the Western Bulldogs, West Coast Eagles, Canterbury Bulldogs and Brisbane Broncos are the only elite clubs to have used real animals as match day mascots.
