Bird Tethered in Benfica Museum Prompts New PETA Push to Retire Live Eagle Mascots

04.08.2025

Lisbon — After a concerned visitor to the Benfica museum at Estádio da Luz reported seeing an eagle bound by one leg at the venue – a practice that can cause birds immense distress – PETA has sent a letter to Sport Lisboa e Benfica President Rui Costa, ramping up its calls for the football club to end its shameful use of live eagles as mascots. If the club agrees, PETA has offered to help pay for an animatronic bird or an eagle costume to be worn by a willing human mascot.

In the letter, PETA points out that a stadium employee told the visitor that the eagle was tethered for an unknown amount of time after a sound check for an upcoming show startled the bird – a concern PETA previously highlighted in 2022, when it first called on Benfica to retire the eagles and spare them from the stress of being subjected to bright lights, boisterous crowds, and ear-splitting noises.

“Shackling an eagle completely stifles their natural instincts and only compounds the already overwhelming stress and frustration these birds face in a booming stadium environment,” says PETA Vice President for Europe Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA is urging Benfica football club to end its archaic mascot tradition and send these eagles to a reputable sanctuary where they can finally live in peace.”

In nature, eagles soar freely, hunt in vast territories, and spend most of their time high in the tree line. Birds used as mascots have frequently been injured or killed at stadia, and their presence there is unsafe for the fans, too. An owl died after being hit by a ball, eagles have crashed into walls and glass windows and been punched by a rival team’s supporter, and a falcon landed on a fan’s head and sank his talons into the man’s scalp.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any way” – points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Sascha Camilli +44 207 923 6244; [email protected]

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