Overview
- PETA sent a formal letter to Crystal Palace chief executive Sharon Lacey this week, urging the club to retire Phoenix and to commit to never using live animal mascots.
- The letter says stadium conditions — bright lights, loud noise and packed crowds — can frighten and disorient eagles, and it argues Phoenix is being used as a prop rather than cared for.
- PETA cited past stadium incidents where birds were harmed or caused injury, including an owl killed by a ball, eagles colliding with walls or glass, and a falcon that wounded a spectator.
- Phoenix was presented to fans in August 2024 as a replacement for Kayla, the club’s previous eagle that flew across the pitch until her death in 2020, but reports say Phoenix has not made a maiden pitch flight at Selhurst Park.
- The club has not issued a public response to PETA’s demand and campaigners point to the existing human mascot, Pete the Eagle, as a low-risk alternative while the debate over tradition and animal welfare continues.