Mike Tyson, VEGAN: Ploy For PETA's Sake?

The boxing legend who once took a bite out of an opponent's ear says he's going vegan, giving up animal products entirely.

Non-coincidentally, it was reported recently that Tyson is stepping into the ring of reality television with an upcoming show on Animal Planet:

The network this week announced a new reality show that will pit Tyson, a novice pigeon racer, against serious competitors.

The show is currently titled "Taking on Tyson" and promises to bring audiences inside this "intensely competitive and bizarrely fascinating world."

Tyson has raised pigeons all his life but will take to the rooftops as a racing rookie. The network says he'll be assisted by a colorful team of pigeon experts as he rears, trains and races them.

The show caught the ire of PETA, who asked Brooklyn prosecutors to halt the show:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants Brooklyn prosecutors to ground the new Animal Planet show, "Taking on Tyson," which depicts races between the ubiquitous New York birds. PETA says the show is cruel because it exploits pigeons and glorifies an abusive sport. "It is inherently cruel," PETA general counsel Jeffrey Kerr said.

The show may also skirt anti-gambling laws in the state, the Daily News reported. Animal Planet spokeswoman Patricia Kollappallil maintains everything is kosher:

"There have never been any plans for wagering on the pigeon race," she said. The birds will be "cherished and respected by their owners, including Mr. Tyson."

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Is Mike Tyson going vegan to get PETA off his back over his Animal Planet show?

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Comments

[renniz]

03:09 PM on 05/19/2010

The motivation as to why someone becomes a Vegan is secondary to the act itself. HP just had to throw in the ear biting in the first sentance no less. The more famouse people there are that stop eating animal and animal products, the more mainstream it will become.

[ecotea]

02:38 AM on 05/19/2010

This is wonderful news. Anyone who evolves for the better, is a champ at life. Mike Tyson, you rule.

[bamz]

11:21 PM on 05/18/2010

I would like to know how racing pigeons is cruel?..They are well treated, allowed to exercise and have to be in good health.. it is not like Greyhound racing or cock fighting. I am all ears to hear from somebody who thinks otherwise..I have a cousin who races these pigeons semi-professionally and he is one of the most conscientious individuals around. ( It is not really racing but controlling these pigeons with whistles and signals to do their thing high up in the air much like synchronized swimming. ) Mike Tyson, by the way visited my cousin a couple of times in the past to compare notes and Tyson, is, genuinely in love with birds and pigeons.

[jakk]

02:09 AM on 06/24/2010

There are some racers who love and care for their pigeons. But there are enough unscrupulous owners in pigeon racing -- in addition to the inherent cruelty in capitalizing on the pigeon's homing instinct and bonding process -- I've come to disdain the sport. I work with wildlife and have taken in rescued racing pigeons that aren't accepted at the wildlife hospital. I learned about the other side of pigeon racing through dealing with some of these owners, and in trying desperately to help these birds that are bred so prolifically, there simply aren't enough homes or rescuers for the abandoned or injured ones. Racers are often kept in tiny, often crowded, sometimes dirty lofts. They may get some fly time, but most of their air time is related to being driven away from their lofts and then "racing" home. The "race" is simply the pigeon's desperate attempt to be home. They are strongly bound to home and their mates. And many racers will use that bond to draw a pigeon home faster -- a winner for cash. Pigeons couple for life, and often pigeons are deliberately separated from their mates to induce better racing. When you rescue racing birds, you find out quickly how many owners don't care about a racer who's not a winner. They will often cull a pigeon who doesn't race well or gets lost. Or, they'll leave people like me, who care about animals, with the burden of caring for the bird -- without a

[dulceburro]

05:03 PM on 05/16/2010

Mike Tyson: Washed Up?

[LMPE]

04:55 PM on 05/16/2010

Good for him!

[IkkoIkki]

10:40 PM on 05/15/2010

I got love for Mike. But a guy that big needs his meat

[Bados]

07:56 PM on 05/15/2010

Hopefully in my lifetime people will figure out that black people arent here to trick them. LOL Damn let the man be a vegan.
Tiger Woods couldnt have hurt his neck. Nope he must be trying to fool you.
Lebron James plays with an injured elbow. Nope he's not hurt.
Even the POTUS get same treatment. The latest is he's trying to trick you into taking your guns away. He has a D rating by the Brady group but he's still being a no good trickster with something up his sleeve. LOL

[Donsta]

05:50 PM on 05/17/2010

Do you have 6 minutes and 17 seconds? I think Larry Wilmore of the Daily Show has some thoughts worth sharin. Larry Wilmore shows up around 2:45 into to clip.
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-19-2010/the-first-364-days-23-hours

[Donsta]

05:56 PM on 05/17/2010

Doh! meant to say worth sharing.

[jimmyjones22]

07:23 PM on 05/15/2010

The vagan crowd here on huffpost needs to go watch a few interviews with this man, and then come back and retake the poll. This guy doesn't give a hoot about anybody but himself.

[ddb]

07:50 AM on 05/15/2010

Go vegan, for any reason at all, and you will make the world a better place.

[HuffGeist]

07:32 AM on 05/15/2010

Ok, I live somewhere near where Mike Tyson lives in Phoenix (and before you freak out, no, I'm not happy at all with what's going on here and will not discuss it on this thread). I keep running across him in various places, like the supermarket and the last time was coming out of a Best Buy, just after he tragically lost one of his children. He even sort of recognized me, but I just said 'Hi Champ.' and left it at that.

Continued

[HuffGeist]

07:33 AM on 05/15/2010

One time I did have a chance to talk with him was when I got dragged to a bar by a friend that I had never been to. I follow boxing more than enough to know what he is capable of and have seen all of his fights, but I am not a person who reacts strangely when I come across a 'celebrity'. He was with some buddies and was outwardly somewhat wild and obviously intoxicated, but at some point we hung out for a while and talked about mostly non-boxing stuff. I found him to be very soft spoken and genuinely a nice person, but he gave me the impression of having a child-like nature in his thinking and how he looked at things. Childlike, but a child from a very rough upbringing that was just trying to figure out his place in the world. Cut away the savage exterior and he is the type of person that always tries to please, but sometimes gets badly lost along the way.
cont..

[HuffGeist]

07:33 AM on 05/15/2010

That being said, I would believe that he is behind this movement and is trying to improve his lot for both himself and animals. I believe that animals probably bring out the gentle, healing side of his nature and this is something we can all use. Yes, he's done some very bad things in his life, but I cannot fault him for trying to improve his situation for himself, his family, and animals in general. I've only had limited exposure to him, but from that short time, I can assure you that that there is a very kind hearted person buried in that rough exterior that is trying to do the best he can and for that, I say Go Mike!

Apologies for chopping this up.

[mortgagechief]

11:41 PM on 05/14/2010

Does PETA want to criminalize the racing of pigeons?

[Squeezer55]

09:48 PM on 05/14/2010

Is PETA still killing dogs for money ?

[Rob Halpin]

08:34 AM on 05/15/2010

No. And it never has. But do you feel good for throwing out an outright lie to everyone?

[moonchild62]

05:01 PM on 05/17/2010

I don't know about the "for money" part, but they certainly do kill them.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2005-06-23/opinion/17379611_1_peta-s-web-animal-cruelty-dead-animals

[DrDungbutter]

07:51 PM on 05/14/2010

Mike Tyson: "I want to rip out his heart and feed it to him [Lennox Lewis]. I want to kill people. I want to rip their stomachs out and eat their children."

[SuburbanMalcontent]

11:54 AM on 05/15/2010

Give me a break. That quote was in the context of boxing. Some of those guys say stuff to seem "tough," and in Tyson's case he was playing off the image of him to the outside world that he's "crazy."

People need to cut Tyson some slack. He's had it extremely hard. He's not the smartest guy as you all know, and people have been taking advantage of him most of his life. Yes, he's made some poor decisions, but he's paid a heavy price many times over. The loss of Cus D'Amato, jail time, being ripped off by Don King, and the tragic loss of a child. Most people wouldn't make it through all that unscathed. The fact that he still is trying to get on the right track is all I need to see he should get that chance.

[wackette]

06:25 PM on 05/14/2010

Thanks, PETA for all you do! I'm a member & proud of it. These poor defenseless animals need
a voice. I'm glad to hear that Tyson has gone vegan, but the pigeon racing sounds questionable.

[Vickster]

12:29 AM on 05/15/2010

Personally, I think Mr. Tyson was yanking PETA's chain.

As for pigeon racing, homing pigeons are taken a specified distance away from their roost, then turned lose and timed, the winning cote (team) being the one that returns to its roost the fastest.

[SuburbanMalcontent]

12:01 PM on 05/15/2010

PETA is a joke and does more to harm the cause of animal rights than any other organization in existence. They don't give defenseless animals "a voice." They simple make over-the-top statements that do nothing but reassure their own kooky members and push anybody who might be swayed by a responsible, thoughtful statement on animal rights further and further away. Calling fish "sea kittens?" Attacking the President for killing a fly? Going after pigeon racing (which does no harm to the birds whatsoever) without a clear understanding of what it even consists of? Ridiculous.

I'm a huge advocate for animal rights. In fact if given the choice I'd help an animal over a human every single time. And that's why I hate PETA. If they were serious about animal rights they'd craft genuine outreach statements and programs designed to sway average Americans. Instead they just do stupid s**t that makes all animal rights advocates look crazy.

[wackette]

04:21 PM on 05/16/2010

Mr Suburban... you sound a little "kooky". Sometimes extreme situations call for
extreme measures.

[SusanElizabeth1949]

09:17 AM on 05/18/2010

PETA is not an Animal Rights/Animal Welfare group. They are an animal abolitionist group dedicated to eventually ending all interaction between humans and animals.

[loufarrelli]

05:27 PM on 05/14/2010

So ears and children are off the menu now?