Fresh off Georgia's blowout national championship win, the Bulldogs already have a new enemy -- PETA -- 'cause the animal rights org. is calling for the victors to officially retire their live mascot, Uga.
TMZ Sports has learned, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals fired off a letter to University of Georgia president, Jere Morehead this week ... asking the school to replace its iconic English bulldog, Uga X, with a human at sporting events.
The org. claims Uga's presence at games increases demand for breathing-impaired breeds like pugs, bulldogs and boxers ... and they want Georgia to lead by example.
Good boy. pic.twitter.com/OLaky4jIHI
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) January 8, 2023
PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman released a statement on the matter ... saying, "As the back-to-back national champion, can’t UGA find it in its heart to honestly examine the impact of its promotion of deformed dogs and call time on its outdated, live-animal mascot program?"
"PETA is calling on Jere Morehead to be a peach and replace poor Uga with a human mascot who can support the team in a winning way."
Uga is locked in back in Athens 🤣 🐶 pic.twitter.com/ksm0yUnV6t
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 10, 2023
Of course, Georgia has used live mascots since the 1950s ... starting with Uga I. The current mascot, Uga X, did not make the trip to Los Angeles for Monday's game due to the five plus hour flight.
PETA clearly thinks it's time for a new tradition ... but don't expect Georgia to do away with the doggo anytime soon.