29 Pennsylvania Lawmakers Join Animal Protection Groups in Petition to Ban Live Pigeon Shoots

HARRISBURG, Pa. — After decades of unsuccessful legislative efforts to stop the organized slaughter of pigeons for sport, Animal Wellness Action, Humane Action Pennsylvania, and a coalition of 27 other animal protection, conservation, and advocacy organizations, joined by 29 Pennsylvania lawmakers, are petitioning the Pennsylvania Game Commission to use its regulatory authority to ban live pigeon shoots throughout the Commonwealth.

The formal petition for rulemaking asks the commission to prohibit organized shooting contests in which live pigeons or other birds are released from traps and shot at close range for entertainment, competition, or cash prizes. The proposed regulation would leave lawful hunting untouched.

At these events, birds are captured or bred, confined in crates, and released into the line of gunfire. Many are not killed outright, instead suffering shattered wings, broken bones, internal injuries, and prolonged deaths. Wounded birds may escape the shooting grounds only to die hours or days later from their injuries.

“Pennsylvania has a long tradition of hunting and responsible sportsmanship, but using live pigeons as targets in organized shooting contests is neither hunting nor sport,” said state representative Mike Jones (R-York), 93rd Legislative District. “As a strong supporter of hunters, I also know that the vast majority of them will tell you it gives hunting a bad name.  As a co-sponsor of legislation to end live pigeon shoots, I believe we have a responsibility to close this longstanding loophole in our animal cruelty laws. Protecting animals from needless suffering is an issue that transcends party lines and political ideologies.”

Pennsylvania remains one of the few states where organized live pigeon shoots continue. Animal protection organizations have documented events involving thousands of birds, including a two-day shoot near Dalmatia in Northumberland County. The Philadelphia Gun Club and other venues have also hosted pigeon shoots, with events sometimes taking place away from public scrutiny.

“For decades, animal advocates, lawmakers, and concerned Pennsylvanians have worked to end the cruel practice of live pigeon shoots, yet these events continue to take place in our Commonwealth,” said Natalie Ahwesh, executive director of Humane Action Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania state director of Animal Wellness Action.

“Birds are captured, confined, and released only to be shot for entertainment, often suffering prolonged and painful deaths. This is not hunting, and it is not a tradition worth preserving. After years of legislative inaction, we are calling on the Pennsylvania Game Commission to exercise its authority to address this cruelty. Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly recognize that live pigeon shoots have no place in a humane society, and it is long past time for our state’s policies to reflect those values,” Ahwesh said.

The petition argues that Pennsylvania’s Game and Wildlife Code, Title 34, gives the Game Commission broad authority to regulate wildlife and the methods by which birds may be taken. The coalition contends that this authority extends to rock doves, commonly known as pigeons, and that the commission can prohibit their use as live targets without waiting for the General Assembly to enact new legislation.

Specifically, the petition asks the commission to adopt a regulation prohibiting any person from conducting, sponsoring, organizing, participating in, or knowingly permitting an organized shooting event using live birds as targets. The proposed language expressly exempts lawful hunting conducted under Pennsylvania law.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton/Lehigh, a co-petitioner and sponsor of legislation to prohibit live pigeon shoots, said regulatory action is long overdue.

“Pigeon shoots are a cruel and outdated practice that have no place in Pennsylvania. There is nothing sporting about using live birds as targets when humane alternatives are readily available. I am proud to sponsor legislation to end these events, and I strongly support this petition calling on the Pennsylvania Game Commission to take action. We should not allow this unnecessary cruelty to continue while we wait for the legislature to act.”

Boscola is the prime sponsor of Senate Bill 1159, introduced in February, which would establish a criminal offense for conducting or knowingly permitting certain live pigeon shooting contests. Companion legislation, House Bill 1097, has advanced through the legislative process, but neither measure will become law this legislative session.

Beyond the suffering inflicted on birds, the rulemaking petition identifies several additional reasons for prohibiting the contests:

• No conservation or wildlife management benefit. Unlike lawful hunting, pigeon shoots do not serve wildlife population management, habitat conservation, food procurement, or other recognized wildlife stewardship purposes. Birds are used as disposable targets, and their carcasses are routinely discarded.
• Environmental contamination. Thousands of rounds of ammunition fired in concentrated areas can deposit lead shot in soil and surrounding waterways, potentially poisoning wildlife and creating long-term environmental hazards.

   

• Public health and safety risks. Dead and wounded birds, blood, feathers, and other biological waste can create sanitation concerns, while retrieving wounded birds from active shooting fields presents additional safety hazards.

   

• Readily available humane alternatives. Clay targets are already standard in Olympic shooting events, trap shooting, skeet, and other competitive shooting disciplines, offering comparable tests of marksmanship without using live animals.

The petition also argues that pigeon shoots undermine the principles of fair chase and wildlife stewardship associated with Pennsylvania’s hunting traditions. Its authors emphasize that the proposed rule would apply only to organized events using live birds as targets and would not restrict otherwise lawful hunting.

The 58 signatories include 24 Pennsylvania state representatives, five state senators, and 29 organizations. Among the participating organizations are the Lycoming Audubon Society, Presque Isle Audubon Society, Lancaster Farm Sanctuary, Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society, SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness), and the Center for a Humane Economy, along with animal rescue organizations and sanctuaries from across the Commonwealth.

The petition asks the Game Commission to initiate formal rulemaking to close what the coalition describes as a regulatory gap that has allowed commercial live-bird shooting contests to continue despite longstanding concerns about animal cruelty, environmental contamination, and public safety.

“Modern clay targets provide an effective, widely accepted, humane, and commercially successful alternative that has rendered live-animal shooting contests unnecessary,” the petition states.

The coalition maintains that the commission need not wait for another legislative session to address a practice that has drawn opposition from animal protection organizations and lawmakers for decades.