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Sunday, January 3, 2010

Pigeon shoot battles rage anew

The decades-long war against pigeon shooting in Pennsylvania is flaring up in courthouses, muncipal offices and the state legislature.

The embattled Philadelphia Gun Club - once a posh gathering place for genteel Victorian sportsmen and home to pigeon shoots for more than a century - is turning the tables on a neighbor who has been outspoken in his opposition to the shoots.

Last week the Bucks County Courier reported that the Bensalem club filed suit against the Grupp family and a development company alleging that they interfered with their legally-run pigeon shoots.

A pigeon shoot requires hundreds of pigeons be trapped and transported to the site. There they are stuffed in metal boxes before being catupulted into the air where they are shot at close range. Those that don't die immediately can suffer slow, painful deaths, including - in this case - drowning in the adjacent Delaware River.

The gun club says it's acting within state law. In 2002 local officials told the club the shoots violated the state animal cruelty statute and violated local firearms laws and issued a cease and desist order.

But the shoots started up again in late 2008. Now local officials tell NBC 10 the courts or the Pennsylvania General Assembly need to clarify the cruelty laws in order to stop the shoots.

See a story and video of a Philadelphia Gun Club pigeon shoot from NBC 10 below (warning, the images show wounded and dead animals)

Meanwhile, animal rights activist Steve Hindi says he was assaulted by a gun club member while videotaping a pigeon shoot in Berks County last month. See his video and report from the Pikeville Sportsmen's Club here.

That same club was the focus of animal cruelty charges filed by two humane organizations. Berks County Humane Society withdrew its charges at the request of Berks County District Attorney John Adams. In the second case, humane officer Johnna Seeton, of the Pennsylvania Legislative Animal Network, continues her fight to pursue charges against the Pikeville club.

The Pennsylvania Flyers Victory Fund - the pigeon shooters political action committee - gave Adams' $1,000 in campaign contributions in the past 18 months, according to state records.

Animal welfare advocates have successfully shut down two pigeon shoots, the notorious Labor Day shoot at Hegins in Schuylkill County, which ended in 1998 and more recently in Strausstown, Berks County. But they have been unable to convince lawmakers to outlaw pigeon shoots in statewide. The Humane Society of the United States is campaigning for passage a pigeon shoot ban. Two bills (House Bill 1411 and Senate Bill 843) are currently before the General Assembly to ban the practice.

 

 

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.
Posted by Amy Worden @ 11:07 PM  Permalink | 13 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:46 PM, 01/03/2010
    When will these shoots FINALLY be stopped - what will it take? The legislators need to listen to their law enforcement and support the legislation that would stop this. To me - that $1000 is 1000 good reasons for every Pennsylvanian to call their legislator and tell them they need to support the bill and pass it.
    — sandy2002
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:09 AM, 01/04/2010
    A handful of shooters should not have this type of control over law enforcement and the legislature. Launching live animals, shooting them, wounding them, leaving them to suffer sure qualifies as cruelty in my book.
    — HAP
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:06 PM, 01/04/2010
    Time to end what is a disgrace to all sportsmen living in this state. Saw a video once where two small children were standing there watching a shoot. What idiot would let kids watch this blood bath. I can just imagine what kind of dreams they would have at night.
    — Gene Owens
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:22 PM, 01/05/2010
    Thank you for this blog - I really enjoyed reading it. I can't believe these shoots are still allowed to go on. Pigeons are covered under the cruelty code, but our state happens to have a shameful history with these events. I really hope the legislature will make it clear once and for all that these events are illegal, if nothing else to save local towns the resources in battling them.
    — gosteelers77
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:46 PM, 01/05/2010
    It is absurd that our legislators in Harrisburg have ignored this issue for so long. Is it not their job to protect the interests of the Commonwealth? These shoots are a black eye on our state which is already known as no safe haven for animals. The Pennsylvania Constitution states that wildlife belongs to all Pennsylvanians and I can guarantee that if we were able to poll the citizens of this Commonwealth they would overwhelmingly agree that massacring pigeons for the sake of watching them bleed is a misuse of our wildlife!
    — sgteddy83
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:19 PM, 01/05/2010
    The activists didn't stop the Hegins shoot....they simply realized that the attention they were giving it was spurring attendance, and once they stopped their flashy protests, people stopped showing up, and the shoot was ended due to a lack of interest.
    — HazmatCorntail
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:25 PM, 01/05/2010
    So, it's OK to poison those pigeons, but not to shoot them? It's clear in the news item that the pigeons were trapped for pest disposal. I wonder how the "animal protection" people justify this. This reminds me of the "humane shelters" where stray dogs and cats caught in the street are handled with great care... until injected with poison.
    — DonQ
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:32 PM, 01/05/2010
    Not being a game animal, I guess pigeons don't fall under its purview but the PA Game Regulations prohibit "wanton waste" of an animal. That is you can't kill something without eating or making some other use of its carcass. That is the standard every hunter should adopt. I never fire my gun in the field unless I'm sure I can inflict a swift mortal wound.
    — Honorary Kenzo
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:46 PM, 01/05/2010
    As a sportsman, I can honestly say this is not sport.
    — FletcherT
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:32 PM, 01/05/2010
    Isn’t it the job of the district attorney to help enforce the law? Humane officers provide a service to the state by protecting animals from cruelty and law enforcement should be backing them, not stopping them from doing their job.
    — HAP
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:12 AM, 01/08/2010
    I just don't understand why Pennsylvania is the only state still doing this - it'd be so simple with the legislation. Almost every Pennsylvanian I've talked to is against this, while I don't know how many have actually talked to their legislator, articles like this are a great examples of how everyone is just waiting for the legislature to act.
    — sandy2002
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:45 PM, 03/05/2010
    According to Humane Society of the Unitedstates(HSUS),only PA legislators in PHILADELPHIA area who are not supporting HB1411 to ban pigeson shoots are Rep. Dennis O'Brien and Rep. John Perzel. Call these politicians and ask them why they are not supporting HB1411 to stop shameful barbarity. Here is contact information of Rep. Dennis O'Brien Capitol office (717)787-5689 District office (215) 632-5150 E-mail dobrien@pahousegot.com Rep. John Perzel Capitol office (717) 787-2016 District office (215)331-2600
    — starsinheaven
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:14 PM, 07/20/2010
    NRA and KKK love pigeon shoots. Did you know NRA also supports puppymills, canned hunt, bear baiting. This organization allow suspected terrorists to own gun. If you don't believe me, type 'NRA supports terrorist suspect to own gun' on search engine. The reason why sadistic nature of pigeon shoots are still going on is because of corrupted politicians who profit($$$$$$$$) from pro pigeon shooters. Many people speak against pigeon shoots but I wonder exactly how many of these people collected signatures on petition sheets to ban this barbarity. How much effort these people are putting?
    — starsinheaven


13 comments
About Amy Worden
Amy Worden is a politics and government reporter for the Inquirer. In that capacity she has explored a range of animal issues from dog kennel law improvements and horse slaughter to the comeback of peregrine falcons and pigeon hunts. From hamsters to horses, animals have always been part of her life. To pass along a tip or contact Amy, click here.
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