Clippers Commit to Bird-Friendly Arena

After PETA Request, City Reports Plans to Prevent Deadly Crashes Into Building’s Glass Façade

For Immediate Release:
June 16, 2020

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Following PETA’s request that the Los Angeles Clippers’ new arena use bird-friendly glass, the City of Inglewood has revised its environmental impact report ahead of a public hearing tomorrow to detail how it will prevent birds from crashing into glass panels they can’t see. In addition to making all glass panels visible to birds by including a fritted finish, the arena’s lighting will be managed so that it doesn’t attract birds and cause collisions at night.

“The Clippers net nothing but kudos from PETA for embracing innovative bird-friendly architecture,” says PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Litigation Caitlin Hawks. “This new arena will give California’s birds an assist as they fly safely through Los Angeles and provide other building developers with a blueprint to emulate.”

As PETA noted in comments to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the City of Inglewood, collisions with buildings—especially tall structures with bright lights and glass façades—kill up to a billion birds every year in the United States. Birds cannot see clear and reflective glass and will careen into windows at high speeds—and their hollow bones mean that they largely can’t survive such collisions. Migratory species are especially vulnerable, in part, because they’re attracted to and disoriented by large, lighted buildings during their nocturnal migration. Los Angeles, which is located along a major migratory route, is the fourth most dangerous city for migrating birds in the spring.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.