Animal rights group tell Crystal Palace to retire beloved mascot

News

Martin Macdonald | Writer

Crystal Palace have been urged by a prominent animal rights group to retire their famous bald eagle mascot.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) say that a "bright stadium filled with boisterous fans is no place for animals".

In a letter to Palace CEO Sharon Lacey, PETA have asked the club to retire Phoenix the bald eagle and to never have live animals as mascots ever again.

Palace have a bald eagle mascot because they adopted the nickname ‘The Eagles’ in 1973, inspired by Portuguese club Benfica, who also use an eagle as a symbol.

Then-manager Malcolm Allison wanted to give Palace a stronger identity, so the club changed its nickname from ‘The Glaziers’ and redesigned its badge to feature an eagle.

The club later introduced a real American bald eagle called Kayla in 2010, which famously flew across Selhurst Park before matches. Kayla died in 2020, and a new eagle, Phoenix, was introduced in 2024 to continue the tradition.

PETA says birds can become "frightened, disoriented and panicked" in stadium environments.

"Many professional sports teams use only willing humans as mascots and the club already has Pete the Eagle to excite the crowd," said Dr Carys Bennett, Peta's senior corporate projects manager.

"Bald eagles are widely recognised as symbols of freedom. They deserve better than to be used as an entertainment prop to amuse the Eagles' fans."

Bald eagles “naturally avoid humans”, according to PETA, who say they have “detailed records” suggesting that the practice of having animal mascots can be dangerous .

Kayla the eagle was targeted by a opposition fan in 2015 during a League Cup match against Charlton Athletic at Selhurst Park.

The supporter threw a punch towards the bald eagle as her handler carried her past the crowd. Kayla appeared to escape unharmed, but the incident was serious enough to be raised in court.

The fan was later found guilty of trying to punch the bird.