ONCE upon a time, the only animals found at a football ground were the affectionately named St Kilda die-hards found in the infamous 'Animal Enclosure' at the Saints' old Moorabbin home ground. 

With Moorabbin long having passed into the annals of history as an elite-level venue, and several newer footy grounds entering the AFL and AFLW rotation, the invasion of furry, feathered and sometimes even scaly friends has increased. 

With an honourable mention to the pigeon that Scott Pendlebury squashed with a bouncing Sherrin back in round 18, 2018, here are some of the most memorable animal antics ever seen at the footy.

Bad bunny takes over Casey Fields

The action at Casey Fields during Melbourne's round three NAB AFLW clash against Brisbane were briefly halted on Sunday, when a rabbit found its way on to the field. The intruder proceeded to cut half a lap of the field at lightning speed, evading all attempts at capture, before bolting under the perimeter fence and finding its way back out into the expanses of the Casey car park, much to the amusement of onlookers. 

Snakes in the grass

There aren't too many poisonous reptiles lurking at the MCG, SCG, Adelaide Oval, Optus Stadium or the Gabba, but as footy has ventured further afield, snakes have started to discover Australian football. An AFLW game between GWS and Richmond at Blacktown was delayed by half an hour in September 2023 as a small red-bellied black snake was professionally removed from one of the pockets. The same venue saw a repeat in the 2024 pre-season when a practice match between Sydney and Brisbane was further delayed by a snake on the field, having already been put off by a power outage.  

'There's a pig at full-forward!'

Perhaps the most famous animal intervention was the unleashing of an unsuspecting pig onto the SCG turf in 1993. In the round 18 clash between Sydney and St Kilda, a pig with 'Pluga' painted on its side was let loose in the goalsquare, prompting Seven commentator Sandy Roberts to famously exclaim: "There's a pig at full-forward!". Its namesake, then-Saints champion Tony 'Plugger' Lockett, wasn't even playing but his presence was still felt. Swan Darren Holmes eventually caught the poor pig and carried it from the field. For the record, the pig went goalless in the Swans' 37-point loss. Two years later, Lockett moved to the Swans and became a hero to the Swans faithful at the SCG. 

The Arden Street elephant

Snakes are deadly, but they're easy enough to remove from a footy field. A spooked elephant is considerably harder to deal with. That was the situation that briefly confronted handlers at Arden Street Oval in 1978, when the decision to parade a circus elephant around the boundary line before a game almost went awry. According to NMFC.com.au, the pachyderm was part of a promotion for a local circus. A young girl from the Roos cheersquad rode on the elephant's shoulders ahead of the round five clash with Collingwood, with more than 31,000 fans in attendance. The large crowd, combined with the entrance of the Magpies players to the field, spooked the elephant and things very nearly got out of hand. Thankfully, the elephant's handlers were able to calm things down and everyone left the game with a remarkable story to tell, and nothing more serious. 

Eight minutes of puppy madness

You've never seen a more excited version of man's best friend than the pup that crashed the International Rules Test at Croke Park in 2004 between Australia and Ireland. For eight minutes, a feisty Jack Russell terrier ran rampant among Aussie and Irish players during the match, even winning a few touches of its own. "The dog's been the best defender so far for Ireland in this game,' quipped commentator Eddie McGuire. A security attendant eventually captured the four-legged streaker by the scruff of the neck and it was promptly evicted to the dismay of the thoroughly entertained Irish fans.