FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, March 24, 1998
CONTACT:
Heidi Prescott, 301-585-2591, hprescott@fund.org
Rep. Sara Steelman, 717-772-2046
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Today, Rep. Sara Steelman (D-Indiana County) and 49 co-sponsors introduced a new bill to address the issue of live pigeon shooting contests in Pennsylvania. If approved by the legislature, the legislation will place a referendum on the statewide ballot in November, allowing Pennsylvania voters to decide whether live pigeon shoots should be banned.
Live pigeon shooting contests are held across the state in Berks, Bucks, Dauphin, Erie, Montgomery, and Schuylkill counties. At the events, captive pigeons are placed in small traps, released one at a time, and shot by contestants who compete for money and prizes. A majority of the birds do not die instantly, but instead are wounded and retrieved by adolescents who kill some, often inhumanely, and throw others into garbage cans to bleed to death.
Says Heidi Prescott, National Director of The Fund for Animals, "We are confident that if voters have the opportunity to put democracy into action, they will relegate pigeon shoots to Pennsylvania's history books. This is a chance to give final closure to this longstanding controversy."
Adds Rep. Sara Steelman, "Most other states, many foreign countries, and the International Olympic Committee have banned this cruel and archaic activity. As elected officials, we owe it to Pennsylvania constituents to give them the opportunity to adopt the humane standards of most of the civilized world."