FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 26, 1996
CONTACT:
Heidi Prescott, (301) 585-2591, Heidi@fund.org
Mike Markarian, (301) 585-2591, MikeM@fund.org
HARRISBURG -- This morning, The Fund for Animals hand-delivered invitations to State Senators who voted in favor of keeping pigeon shoots alive in Pennsylvania, urging them to attend the Hegins Labor Day pigeon shoot in Schuylkill County, and "to witness this cruelty first-hand." Thirty-five State Senators received invitations because they voted against a proposal to ban live pigeon shoots. Governor Tom Ridge also received an invitation for refusing to take a stand against this cruelty.
"After witnessing one of Pennsylvania's pigeon shoots, no person with a heart or a brain could possibly cast a vote to keep this sadism legal," declares Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals. "Children ripping the heads off live birds or throwing them in the air like footballs, adults cheering and laughing when crippled birds flop up and down in pain, spectators parading around the park with pigeons' heads mounted on plastic forks. These are outdated activities, like throwing Christians to the lions."
Most of the invitations read, "Because you have the power in your hands to stop live pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania, you are invited to attend the Hegins Labor Day pigeon shoot and to witness this cruelty first-hand. We know that after seeing this barbaric spectacle, you will not be able to continue to support it. What to bring: your heart and conscience." State Senators who fought especially hard to protect pigeon shoots, such as Schuylkill County's Jim Rhoades, received special invitations tailored to their unexplainable defense of live pigeon shoots.
"The Legislature will recess today and thousands of birds will once again suffer on Labor Day," adds Prescott. "If they choose to close their eyes to animal cruelty, they should at least have the statesmanship to educate themselves about what they are supporting."
The Fund for Animals has invited State Representatives to attend the Hegins pigeon shoot every Labor Day for the last four years, and the only one to ever take up the offer was State Representative Ed Krebs (R-Lebanon). After attending the shoot last year, Representative Krebs told the Lebanon Daily News, "A lot of the birds were shot within five to 10 feet of coming out of the box. That's not sport." He changed his position and decided to oppose live pigeon shoots, which the newspaper's editorial called "an objective look at the facts" and "an independence in thought and deed that is appealing."