FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, August 28, 1995
CONTACT:
Heidi Prescott, (301) 585-2591
Cleveland Amory, (212) 246-2096
This morning, The Fund for Animals received an anonymous telephone call from someone claiming to be a member of the Animal Liberation Front. The caller indicated that, late last night, ALF activists liberated 500 pigeons from Mike's Feed Barn, on Middle Road, in Weishample, Pennsylvania (in Schuylkill County, only a few miles from Hegins).
The caller said that these 500 birds were destined for the Hegins pigeon shoot on Labor Day. The caller described ALF activists cutting the locks on the barn, stealing six crates from the property, working late into the night to place the birds into crates one by one, and spray painting "ALF" on the barn. The activists reportedly released the birds in a park where hunting is not allowed.
According to the anonymous caller, "We have been waiting all year for someone to stop the shoot, but these 500 birds had no more time to wait."
Says Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "We, too, have been waiting all year for someone to stop the insidious Hegins pigeon shoot. The State Legislature, the State Police, Governor Ridge, and the Courts have all failed to end this cruelty. It is nice to see that someone in Pennsylvania has some guts."
Adds Cleveland Amory, President of The Fund and best-selling author, "The Fund for Animals does not encourage anyone to break the law. But when I think of 500 birds flying free, instead of being stuffed in tiny boxes and tortured for fun, it puts a big smile on my face."
The Hegins pigeon shoot is the world's largest and most gruesome live bird shooting contest. Of the 5,000 birds shot each year, investigators from The Fund have documented that approximately 70 percent of the birds are not killed immediately, but wounded. Young children collect crippled birds, ripping off their heads, stomping on them, or throwing them into barrels to suffocate.
On Labor Day at the Hegins pigeon shoot, The Fund for Animals will organize a massive bird rescue effort with veterinarians, wildlife rehabilitators, and a mobile MASH unit on hand to treat wounded birds. Last year, Fund volunteers rescued over 300 birds from the pigeon shoot, treated them with medical care, and transported them to various rehabilitation facilities.