Peta urges Crystal Palace to retire bald eagle mascot Phoenix from Selhurst Park matchdays
On 20 October 2026 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) wrote to Crystal Palace chief executive Sharon Lacey urging the club to retire its American bald eagle mascot, Phoenix, from matchday appearances at Selhurst Park. Peta said the matchday experience can leave the bird “frightened, disoriented and panicked” and warned such appearances could also endanger spectators.
In its letter Peta asked Palace to end Phoenix’s appearances and to commit never to use a live animal mascot again. The club adopted the Eagles nickname in 1973 after manager Malcolm Allison changed it from the Glaziers; Kayla the Eagle began pre-match displays in 2010 and died in 2020 after ten years in the role. Phoenix, described on the Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation website as having “had been carefully prepared for her prestigious role as Crystal Palace’s official live mascot since hatching”, made her debut before the game against West Ham in August 2024 as a four-month-old, meeting supporters in the fanzone and appearing at half-time with her handler.
Phoenix has not returned to Selhurst Park since that debut and plans for a maiden flight across the pitch — a ritual for which Kayla had been known — were abandoned at a match this season. The bird is based at the Eagle Heights Wildlife Foundation in Kent.
Peta’s letter set out its central welfare concerns, saying bright lights, loud noises and boisterous crowds make stadiums “no place for animals” and can put both animals and spectators at risk. The organisation cited incidents involving eagles colliding with walls or glass and a case in which a falcon landed on a spectator’s head, embedding its talons in the man’s scalp.
The letter also referenced an episode involving Kayla in 2015 when a Charlton fan was found guilty of attempting to punch the bird during a League Cup tie that was marred by crowd trouble. Dr Carys Bennett, Peta’s senior corporate projects manager, said: “Bald eagles are revered as symbols of freedom, yet Phoenix is being used as little more than a prop to entertain football fans. 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 is urging the club to let Phoenix spread [her] wings and retire [her] from matchday duties for good.”
Palace did not respond to Peta’s letter or to a follow-up request last week, and the Guardian’s enquiries to Eagles Heights about Phoenix’s welfare received no reply. The club has been contacted for comment.
Peta’s appeal noted other clubs use live birds, citing Benfica’s Águia Vitória, a bald eagle that has appeared at the Portuguese club’s home matches since the opening of the new Estádio da Luz in 2003. Peta’s immediate request to Crystal Palace is for Phoenix to be withdrawn from matchday duties and for a permanent end to the use of live animal mascots; Palace has not publicly responded and Phoenix has yet to appear again at Selhurst Park.