PETA wants the next Colorado Buffaloes mascot to be… Animatronic

News came out this week that the University of Colorado’s live buffalo mascot, Ralphie VI, no longer wanted to run, so it was being retired. The new buffalo isn’t ready, so football games will be without the famous running of the buffalo for the time being… Forever if People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has anything to do with it!

PETA is calling on the school to scrap plans to replace her with another suffering bison and instead switch to an animatronic buffalo, and they’re even offering to help cover the costs.

In a letter sent to the university’s Chancellor, Dr. Justin Schwartz, PETA staffer and recent CU Boulder graduate Audrey Endres points out that Ralphie VI’s preference for roaming and grazing in peace is true for all bison.

“Ralphie VI’s Folsom Field blues should be a wake-up call that no animal wants to be subjected to the chaos and confusion of a crowded stadium full of bright lights and screaming fans,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on CU Boulder to put these cruel sideline spectacles out to pasture and dazzle fans with a state-of-the-art robotic ruminant instead.”

After my last visit to Chuck E. Cheese’s I thought animatronics were dead, but not so fast…

CU has yet to respond to PETA.