FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, September 18, 1996
CONTACT:
Heidi Prescott, (301) 585-2591, Heidi@fund.org
Guy Brooks, (717) 234-4161
HARRISBURG -- Today, in the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County, attorneys for humane officer Keith Mohler made a motion for a preliminary injunction against an upcoming live pigeon shoot at the Erdman Sportsmen's Association, scheduled for Saturday, October 5. The plaintiff contends that the live pigeon shooting contest violates Pennsylvania's cruelty to animals statute, 18 Pa.C.S.A. && 5511 (c) and (i).
Last year, Judge Todd A. Hoover of the Court of Common Pleas ordered organizers of the Erdman pigeon shoot to comply with several requirements, representing a significant departure from the conduct at past shoots across Pennsylvania. Under Judge Hoover's order, (1) only experienced adults over age 21 could kill wounded birds -- a major difference from the "tradition" of hiring young "trapper boys and girls" to kill wounded pigeons, (2) there would be no kicking, swinging, stomping, or slamming of wounded birds as there had been in past years, (3) shoot personnel would patrol surrounding areas and make reasonable efforts to locate and kill wounded birds, and (4) police would attend the event to monitor compliance with this order.
Judge Hoover wrote in his opinion that "the Court's review of the handling of the pigeons from retrieval to dispatch may constitute cruel treatment and the failure to employ reasonable efforts to dispose of injured birds in a non-abusive manner warrants certain equitable relief."
Says Katherine Meyer, an attorney for Mr. Mohler, "Even after Judge Hoover's order, which was a positive step in the right direction, eyewitnesses documented that hundreds of birds were wounded at the 1995 Erdman pigeon shoot and were left to suffer. It is absolutely impossible to hold a pigeon shoot without violations of the animal cruelty statute. Mr. Mohler intends to pursue this case vigorously until this barbaric practice of wounding hundreds of birds for sport is ended."
Adds Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "If Pennsylvanians were shooting thousands of kittens and puppies for sport and leaving them wounded to suffer, the Courts and the citizens would not stand for it. We are confident that the Court will recognize that pigeons, too, are protected from wanton cruelty by Pennsylvania state law."
For a copy of the 32-page motion, please call The Fund for Animals at (301) 585-2591 or send us mail.