Will the Clippers’ New Arena Be Bird-Friendly?
PETA Urges Team to Prevent Deadly Crashes Into Reflective Glass Façade
For Immediate Release:
March 23, 2020
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
With the Los Angeles Clippers’ proposed new arena currently under environmental review, PETA sent a letter this morning to owner Steve Ballmer calling on the team to commit to using bird-friendly glass.
“The beautiful glass façade planned for the Clippers’ new stadium may be deadly for birds, who crash at full speed into reflective glass they can’t see,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Litigation Caitlin Hawks. “PETA is urging the Clippers to use innovative design elements like films, frits, and ultraviolet patterns to keep birds flying through Inglewood safe.”
Before the public comment period ends tomorrow, PETA has also asked the city of Inglewood to include an analysis of the arena’s potential impact on bird mortality in its final environmental impact report.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA’s letter to Steve Ballmer, owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, follows.
March 23, 2020
Steve Ballmer
Los Angeles Clippers
1212 S. Flower St., 5th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90015
Dear Mr. Ballmer,
On behalf of PETA, I am asking you to consider incorporating bird-friendly glass into the design of the Clippers’ proposed Inglewood arena. Collisions with buildings kill up to a billion birds every year in the United States, and tall buildings with bright lights and glass façades like the proposed arena are a major cause.
Birds cannot see clear and reflective glass and will careen into windows at high speeds. Their hollow bones make them well-suited to flight but largely unable to survive such collisions. Migratory species are especially vulnerable, in part because they are attracted to and disoriented by large, lighted buildings during their nocturnal migration. Los Angeles, located along a major migratory route, is the fourth most dangerous city for migrating birds in the spring.
To counter this devastating impact on birds, architects have developed innovative designs, including films, frits, and ultraviolet patterns, which can easily be added to glass windows. For example, in 2018 the Milwaukee Bucks opened the NBA’s first bird-friendly arena, using fritting—thin ceramic lines on glass that are visible to birds but virtually transparent to humans. Will you please consider joining this trend to prevent unnecessary deaths? We would be happy to offer more suggestions and assistance. Thank you.
Sincerely,
James Erselius, Esq.
Litigation Counsel
PETA Foundation
