PETA urges end to eagle flight after stadium crash | News

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) - Members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals say Auburn University should end its pre-game tradition of bald eagle flights after it crashed into a stadium luxury box.

Lindsay Pollard-Post of the PETA Foundation said screaming fans and other sounds of a football game can terrify animals.

She outlined her concerns in a letter to the Montgomery Advertiser, saying that animals aren't performers and don't deserve to be frightened or hurt "just so we can have a momentary thrill."

Jamie Bellah, director of AU's Southeastern Raptor Center, said he's not sure why 14-year-old Spirit careened into the luxury box window during Saturday's Auburn-Mississippi State game.

Bellah told the Opelika-Auburn News that the center has a federal permit allowing eagle flights as a form of public outreach.

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