Alert from Elissa Katz, from HSUS and the Humane League of Philadelphia (no relation to the League of Humane Voters):
ACTION ALERT – HELP PASS LEGISLATION TO END PENNSYLVANIA’S NOTORIOUS PIGEON SHOOTS
Pennsylvania is the only State in the country that still openly hosts live pigeon shoots, cruel events where shooters aim at close range at dazed pigeons launched randomly from boxes with the goal of downing the birds within a ring for prizes. Thousands of birds can be killed or injured at a single pigeon shoot event. Birds are often stockpiled months before the shoots in cramped cages and the pigeons arrive at the events malnourished, dehydrated and disoriented. After each shooting round, participants, sometimes children, take to the field to collect wounded and dead animals. If the suffering pigeon is still alive, the collector will sometimes snap the animal’s head off or slam her against the ground before tossing the animal into a barrel full of dead and dying pigeons. Often, wounded birds make it outside the shooting field to the surrounding area and suffer for days before succumbing to their injuries. It is not uncommon for dead and dying birds to be found on the lawns and rooftops of homes unfortunate enough to be located in the vicinity of a gun club hosting a pigeon shoot event.
Pennsylvania is the only State in the country that still openly hosts live pigeon shoots, cruel events where shooters aim at close range at dazed pigeons launched randomly from boxes with the goal of downing the birds within a ring for prizes. Thousands of birds can be killed or injured at a single pigeon shoot event. Birds are often stockpiled months before the shoots in cramped cages and the pigeons arrive at the events malnourished, dehydrated and disoriented. After each shooting round, participants, sometimes children, take to the field to collect wounded and dead animals. If the suffering pigeon is still alive, the collector will sometimes snap the animal’s head off or slam her against the ground before tossing the animal into a barrel full of dead and dying pigeons. Often, wounded birds make it outside the shooting field to the surrounding area and suffer for days before succumbing to their injuries. It is not uncommon for dead and dying birds to be found on the lawns and rooftops of homes unfortunate enough to be located in the vicinity of a gun club hosting a pigeon shoot event.
You can take action to bring live pigeon shoots to an end. Bills are currently pending in the Pennsylvania State Legislature (House Bill 1411 and Senate Bill 843) that, if passed, will prohibit pigeon shoots and the use of other live animals in target shoots. However, neither the State House nor State Senate has yet voted on the Bill. State Representatives and Senators must hear from their constituents to be reminded that the citizens of Pennsylvania want our legislators to take action to end animal cruelty. Both the House and Senate versions of the Bill to prohibit pigeon and other live animal target shoots were referred to their respective Judiciary Committees in May, 2009, but have not moved out of Committee, and have not been voted on by the entire legislative body.
A brief telephone call can make a difference! To find out your State Legislators, please visit www.legis.state.pa.us/. When calling your State Representative or State Senator, you will likely speak with a legislative aid. Please tell the aid that you are calling as a district constituent to let your specific legislator know that you support the Bill to end live pigeon shoots (for a Representative, this is House Bill 1411; for a Senator, this is Senate Bill 843) and that you are requesting that he or she support this Bill and take action to have it brought to a vote and passed.
If you want any assistance or guidance in communicating with your legislator, please contact Elissa B. Katz at ebk@meranzekatz.com or call 215-205-2223.
PS: We are also looking for people to submit letters to the editor and post on blogs to keep the public pressure going and to continue to bring attention to the issue.
If you want any assistance or guidance in communicating with your legislator, please contact Elissa B. Katz at ebk@meranzekatz.com or call 215-205-2223.
PS: We are also looking for people to submit letters to the editor and post on blogs to keep the public pressure going and to continue to bring attention to the issue.
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