AR-News: (US-NC) FUND FOR ANIMALS PRAISES WILDLIFE COMMISSION FOR HELPING END CRUEL PIGEON SHOOTS

[Tracey McIntire]

  For Immediate Release

FUND FOR ANIMALS PRAISES WILDLIFE COMMISSION FOR HELPING END CRUEL 
PIGEON SHOOTS

RALEIGH, NC (May 18, 2004) - The Fund for Animals is praising the 
Wildlife Resources Commission today for tightening rules that will help 
to end the cruel and inhumane practice of pigeon shoots. The Commission 
amended its definition of wild birds to clearly state that pigeons were 
protected, which will effectively ban the killing of the birds.

Pigeon shooters compete for money and prizes by taking aim at birds who 
are released one at a time from individual boxes. Many of the birds, who 
are often dazed from their confinement, do not fly away but are shot at 
close range. An overwhelming majority of the birds are not killed 
immediately, but are wounded and left to suffer from their injuries, or 
are eventually killed by "trapper boys" who rip off their heads, stomp 
on them, throw them into barrels to suffocate, or use other inhumane 
methods of killing.

"We are very pleased that North Carolina has taken this important step 
that will effectively stop pigeon shoots," said Heidi Prescott, National 
Director of The Fund for Animals. "Pennsylvania is now the last bastion 
for live pigeon shoots, while nearly every other state has deemed them 
cruel and illegal."

"We applaud the action of the Wildlife Resources Commission," said Jack 
Cozort, of Parker, Poe, Adams & Bernstein, counsel for the North 
Carolina Network for Animals, which has also worked to end the pigeon 
shoots. "The Commission has ended a cruel and inhumane practice in this 
state that had no relationship to true sports activities. We appreciate 
the hard work and diligent efforts of the Commission in this and many 
other areas. They have made great strides in wildlife management."

The Fund for Animals, founded in 1967 by author and animal advocate 
Cleveland Amory, has spearheaded some of the most historic efforts for 
animal protection, including the end of the infamous Labor Day pigeon 
shoot in Hegins, Pennsylvania. The Fund's world-famous 
sanctuaries--including the Black Beauty Ranch and Wildlife 
Rehabilitation Center--provide care and a safe haven for thousands of 
abandoned or abused wild animals. On the web at www.fund.org.

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