FOXSYLVANIA

– – One can be less than fond of pigeons but still abhor their use as living targets.  The practice of live pigeon shoots continues to exist in the state of Pennsylvania despite unsuccessful efforts to eradicate it, drawing the attention of none less than animal rights activist and former long-time game show host Bob Barker! Now pigeon shoots involve hunters firing at birds as they are released from small cages and attempting to fly away, and still takes place through a circuit of gun clubs holding shoots in the fall and winter seasons, typically involving 500 to 1,000 birds and about 40 to 50 shooters.

In 1998, a long-running annual pigeon shoot in the town of Hegins, Pennsylvania came to an end following a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that participants could be guilty of animal cruelty.   An attempt at a statewide ban on such “hunting” failed to be passed by the legislature in 1999, and an updated ban proposed in 2007 remains under debate.

Viewing the infamous Hegins pigeon shoot, together with its use of children in the horrific killings, led one long-term hunter, Steve Hindi, to abandon hunting altogether and found SHARK, “SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness,” a registered non-profit charity that deals with any issue involving violation of the innate rights of living creatures.  SHARK also conducts animal rescues and education projects.–Bravo!