Time to end pigeon shoots

Published: May 21, 2009

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Pennsylvania remains the only state that allows pigeon shoots, a cruel practice in which live birds are used like inanimate targets for the entertainment of shooters and profit of event organizers.

The practice has survived, despite decades of legislative efforts to end it, because advocates of the practice have managed to conflate it with hunting.

True hunters are insulted by that notion, however. It's time to put the myth to rest and pass new bills introduced in the House and Senate that finally would outlaw pigeon shoots and turkey shoots, in which live turkeys are tied to bales of hay as targets for archers.

Both bills emphatically state that the prohibition on the cruel practices simply does not apply to any form of legitimate hunting, period.

Although many live pigeon shoots have fallen to public opposition in recent years, the practice continues. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that about 22,000 live birds are used as targets every year in Pennsylvania.

Lawmakers finally should recognize that banning pigeon shoots will not adversely affect hunting. They need only look at other states that have banned the practice but where hunting thrives. Legislators should end this embarrassment to the commonwealth by quickly passing the new bills.

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This is a great informitive piece. i to do not believe in pigeon shoots and htink we should put it to an end!

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Kerry, 06/05/09 02:23

Banning live pigeon shoots is long overdue. When there are so many easier alternatives than shooting pigeons that are netted and brought into the state, its ridiculous that an argument for this cruel event could be considered valid. Pigeons may not be the most endearing animals, but people who participate in pigeon shoots are not doing us a favor by killing them... they are transported into PA specifically for this reason, and after its all said and done, all thats left to show is thousands of dead or dying pigeons in our backyards.

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Shannon, 06/03/09 03:12

THANK YOU FOR YOUR EDITORIAL!! THE TIME IS NOW FOR THESE BILLS TO PASS AND END THIS BARBARIC PRACTICE. I URGE EVERY CITIZEN WHO READS MY COMMENT TO EMAIL, WRITE OR CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES IN HARRISBURG RIGHT AWAY TO LET THEM KNOW YOU WANT THEM TO PASS THE BILLS BEFORE THE LEGISTATURE THAT WOULD ONCE AND FOR ALL BAN EVENTS SUCH AS LIVE PIGEON SHOOTS AND TETHERED TURKEY SHOOTS IN OUR STATE. IF YOU DON'T CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES THEY WON'T KNOW HOW THEIR CONSTITUENCY FEELS ON THE ISSUE. IT IS NOT TRUE THAT ONE EMAIL OR CALL WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I READ RECENTLY THAT A CONGRESSMAN IN WASHINGTON RECENTLY SAID THAT FOR EVERY LETTER OR EMAIL THAT HE GETS FROM A CONSTITUENT WITH A PARTICULAR VIEWPOINT ON AN ISSUE THAT THAT REPRESENTS APPROXIMATLEY 10,OOO OTHER CONSTITUENTS OUT THERE WITH THAT SAME VIEWPOINT. THEY DO PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU WRITE TO THEM OR CALL THEM! TO FIND OUT WHO YOUR REPRESETATIVES ARE IN PA AND HOW TO CONTACT THEM VISIT WWW.LEGIS.STATE.PA.US AND ENTER IN YOUR ZIPCODE WHERE ASKED FOR, OR CALL YOUR LOCAL MUNICIPAL BUILDING FOR THAT INFORMATION.

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Charron Parola, 05/24/09 10:17

Of course banning pigeon shoots won't ban hunting. If anything, rogue events like pigeon shoots only serve to make hunting look bad, and banning pigeon shoots will help maintain true hunting.

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Jason, 05/23/09 09:56

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "Animals are God's creatures. He surrounds them with his providential care. By their mere existence they bless him and give him glory. Thus men owe them kindness. We should recall the gentleness with which saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Philip Neri treated animals….It is contrary to human dignity to cause animals to suffer or die needlessly." It is past time to end pigeon shoots, indeed.

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Karen, 05/22/09 11:45

The time to end pigeon shoots is long overdue. They should have never been “legal” in the first place. I attended my first slaughter in Hegins back in 1990 and continued to bear witness to the depravity up to 1993. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw: laughter, gaiety and complete disregard for the suffering of the wounded birds who had their lives ended by ripping off their heads and/or bashing them along side of barrels or on the ground. And this was done by young boys who used their bare hands. No doubt those boys have grown into the men who continue to defend this cruelty today. I hope our legislators have the backbone to finally end this barbaric “sport”.

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Macy, 05/22/09 11:08

Since these people think this is "fun," let them try to come up with some courage to use themselves as targets. Should be highly entertaining for those on the trigger end. There will of course be no courage found in this group of shooters, and therefore no enlightenment, no development of compassion, no evolution from simple eat and grunt existence.

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Lawrence M. Henson, 05/22/09 06:34

Pigeon shoots are both cruel and inhumane. It is very sad to see that this continues to be legal in the state of Pennsylvania. I hope lawmakers finally recognize the cruelty of this practice and once and for all ban this activity. It should embarrass the state of Pennsylvania that this type of "activity" continues to be legal.

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Stacey from Atlanta-formerly of Scranton PA, 05/21/09 09:53

Pigeon shoots are the issue this year and every year in every campaign. Catholics may not turn away from the moral challenge that Pigeon shoots pose for those who seek to obey God’s commands. They are wrong when they assert that Pigeon shoot do not concern them, or that it is only one of a multitude of issues of equal importance. No, the taking of innocent avian life is so heinous, so horribly evil, and so absolutely opposite to the law of Almighty God that Pigeon shoots must take precedence over every other issue. I repeat. It is the single most important issue confronting not only Catholics, but the entire electorate.

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Joseph Martino, 05/21/09 03:05

It doesn't take one ounce of courage to shoot a bird launched from a trap or tied to a bale of hay. And it shouldn't take one ounce of courage for PA lawmakers to vote to ban live pigeon shoots and live turkey shoots.

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Andrew, 05/21/09 01:12

I've had the "pleasure" of going to a pigeon shoot recently. My friend shoots pigeons and thought I'd like to shoot too. The rules of fair chase and using what you kill were violated in this type of shoot. The pigeons were stuffed into big hefty bags (usually still alive) after being shot and collected off of the field. None of the thousands of birds shot that day were eaten, just thrown into the garbage. Pigeon shoots are nothing more than another opportunity to gamble and compete to see who can kill the most pigeons in an afternoon. Not cool. As I told my friend who shoots, I think this type of shooting should be illegal.

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Tim, 05/21/09 12:55

I am a supporter of an individual's gun rights. I have no problem with legitimate hunting endeavors. I am a police officer who carries weapons on a daily basis. I find the practice of using live animals for target practice reprehensible and inexcuseable. This isn't a second amendment issue nor a game law issue; it is simply a cruel and ludicrous practice for profit.

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John, 05/21/09 11:38

Thank you for your Editorial! I've been documenting pigeon shoots for 22 years in Pennsylvania. I go back 1, 2 and even 4 days after a shoot and document live, injured pigeons. No "sportsman" should ever support this cruelty. Shame on them! Shame on Pennsylvania! As a lifelong Pennsylvanian and Humane Society Police Officer, I say, "End this slaughter once and for all!"

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Johnna Seeton, 05/21/09 11:12

Time to end pigeon shoots

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