A businessman named John Cox who is running for the post of the governor in the United States’ California is making headlines after his picture from a recent political rally went viral. Cox, a Republican candidate, recently brought a live 500 kg bear to one of his political rallies and pictures of the bear during the rally are going viral on social media. Cox is reported to be campaigning on the theme of “beauty and the beast”, where “the beauty” is current Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom, and “the beast” is Cox himself and he even has brown bear features prominently on his party flag.

During the rally, Cox said, “The beautiful politicians have failed California. We need big, beastly changes to save it. I’ll cut taxes, make California more affordable and shake up Sacramento.” Cox is said to have brought the huge bear named ‘Tag’ for a publicity stunt. The kodiak bear, considered the largest ursine species, weighs about 1,100 pounds (500 kilograms) and was born in captivity and trained to appear in films and television series.

In several of the videos from the rally that are being circulated on social media, the bear, Tag can be seen displaying a laid-back attitude munching on snacks given by his trainer and grooming himself with his tongue while Cox gave his speech on the background.

Even though the use of the bear might have brought Cox some attention, animal rights advocates were not much happy about it. PETA said it was “unfortunate and shameful that Tag the Kodiak bear has been exploited in this way.”