Peta urges Crystal Palace to retire live bald eagle mascot Phoenix from matchdays

Peta has called on Crystal Palace to permanently retire Phoenix, the club’s live bald eagle mascot, writing to CEO Sharon Lacey to demand the club commit to “never using a live animal mascot again”.

The animal rights organisation argued that stadium environments pose a genuine welfare risk to birds of prey. “Bald eagles are revered as symbols of freedom, yet Phoenix is being used as little more than a prop to entertain football fans,” said Peta’s Dr Carys Bennett. “Crystal Palace already has a human mascot to energise supporters, so there’s no reason to drag a wild animal into a noisy, crowded stadium.”

Peta’s letter cited a series of incidents involving live birds at football matches, including “an owl who died after being hit by a ball, eagles who crashed into walls or glass windows, and a falcon who landed on a fan’s head, sinking his talons into the man’s scalp”. The group contends that “bright lights, loud noises, and boisterous crowds can cause birds to become frightened, disoriented and panicked”.

One of the incidents referenced is believed to relate to an attack on Kayla, Palace’s previous eagle mascot, during a League Cup match against south London rivals Charlton in September 2015 — a fixture that was already marred by crowd trouble. Kayla had regularly appeared before matches at Selhurst Park, flying the length of the pitch before kick-off.

The call to retire Phoenix arrives at an already turbulent moment for the club. Crystal Palace have collected just seven points from their opening seven Premier League games this season, and were beaten 5-0 by Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Sunday — a result that has intensified scrutiny of manager Pierre Sage. Diego Gomez scored the standout goal of the afternoon, finding the net from the halfway line.

Palace, who have carried the Eagles nickname since 1973, next face Besiktas in the Europa League as they look to recover from that heavy defeat.