FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 3, 1997
CONTACT:
Heidi Prescott, (301) 585-2591, Heidi@fund.org
Dr. Gordon Stull, (609) 268-9470, GStull@aol.com
HARRISBURG, PA. -- Today, The Fund for Animals received a letter from Dr. Gordon Stull, a veterinarian who has treated rescued birds at the Hegins pigeon shoot for the last four years, raising concerns over the epidemic of Avian Influenza in Pennsylvania and the fact that the conditions of birds at the pigeon shoot are ripe for spreading this disease to poultry or humans. While it is highly unlikely that pigeons in the wild would spread the disease, the crowded, stressful, filthy, and emaciated conditions of the birds kept at the pigeon shoot are ripe for harboring and spreading disease, and the birds who are not shot are released into the wild. The letter was forwarded today to Governor Tom Ridge and to Secretary of Agriculture Samuel Hayes.
Over the last four years, Dr. Stull has documented that birds rescued from the Hegins pigeon shoot actively carried dangerous diseases such as Salmonella (serotype B, which is often incriminated in human Salmonella outbreaks), Chlamydia (also known as Psittacosis or Parrot Fever), Pigeon Avian Pox, and Paramyxovirus (group 1 variant P). At the 1996 pigeon shoot, approximately 75 percent of the rescued birds demonstrated serious pathological lesions.
Dr. Stull wrote in the letter, "Given the epidemic of Avian Influenza already brewing in Lancaster County, PA, the conditions are ripe for trouble. . . . I can picture a pigeon sick from Influenza (that it may have contracted from another pigeon, another bird, a mammal or even man), caught and held with other pigeons under conditions ripe for disease spread. The Labor Day release of 5,000 pigeons (many of whom would then be incubating or manifesting the diseases brought about by the unnatural conditions forced upon them by the lack of proper care) into the environment would, in my opinion, promote a health risk to Pennsylvania."
The Fund for Animals has alerted the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal Industry in the past that Pennsylvania's Agriculture Code prohibits the importation or intrastate movement of birds with infectious diseases (7 Pa. Code $$ 3.3 and 3.193) unless the Department of Agriculture has issued permits for the diseased birds. The Department of Agriculture has refused to act on this information.
Says Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "The Hegins pigeon shoot not only causes thousands of birds to suffer, but also puts at risk the health of all Pennsylvanians. The Schuylkill County organizers of the pigeon shoot are acting illegally and irresponsibly by releasing diseased birds into their community and by hiring young children to handle dead and crippled pigeons."
For a copy of Dr. Stull's two-page letter, please contact The Fund for Animals at (301) 585-2591 or fund4animals@fund.org.
