The boy, 17, of Bridgeton, N.J., was working for a subcontractor hired by the riverside club in Bensalem to retrieve and euthanize birds wounded during a Jan. 30 pigeon shoot, Bensalem Police Lt. William McVey said. His name wasn't released because he is a juvenile.
Activists from SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness) have long protested the semiannual shoots, in which hunters gun down live birds released from boxes. A SHARK activist filmed the teen chasing injured birds on the riverbank, throwing them to the ground, pelting them with rocks and ice and jabbing them with sticks in violation of state animal-cruelty laws.
"The shoots are legal in Pennsylvania, so there's nothing we can do about that. Our concern is the treatment of the animal once it is shot, to make sure it's (euthanasia) done as humanely and swiftly as possible," McVey said. "In this case, it crossed the line."
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| Thrown into the back of a truck, like garbage |
While SHARK activists were happy the teen was identified and charged, they accused the club of trying to mislead authorities by initially claiming the bird-basher was a heartless trespasser who wandered onto club grounds.
When shown the video, they LIED and said they didn't know who the person was in the video. However, later the same boy was seen walking through the entrance to the club and they admitted to police they had LIED to protect the animal abusing future serial killer.
"In the end the truth came out," SHARK President Steve Hindi said. "We believe it is important that this person be prosecuted not just for the cruelty to animals, but also because someone who causes such pain and suffering to animals may also pose a danger to people as well. That's why the FBI created an animal abuse database."
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| This shot pigeon landed on a roof, still alive |
But Sean M. Corr, an attorney who represents the club, said: "The Philadelphia Gun Club cooperated with the police and does not believe the individual would have been apprehended without our cooperation."
Christopher Markos, an attorney for SHARK, said the teen's behavior may violate the terms of a federal lawsuit the club and SHARK settled last month, in which the club agreed to humanely kill injured birds.
"SHARK is pleased to see the animal cruelty statute enforced, but troubled that this was allowed to occur in the first place," Markos said. "It shows that whatever steps the gun club has taken up until now to keep its promise have been inadequate, so the Bensalem Police Department's decision to file charges doesn't satisfy SHARK's concern that future shoots held at the gun club also won't comply with the agreement. Right now, SHARK is exploring their options in pursuing an appropriate remedy, including returning to court."
Corr declined to address that issue, saying such debate belongs in court.
Pennsylvania is the only state to still allow live pigeon shooting, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Bills that would prohibit them have been repeatedly introduced - and shot down - in the state legislature since 1989.
(Philly.com - Feb 25, 2016)
Earlier:
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| Shot and dying, this pigeon fell onto the rocks |
If they fall onto the shooting range, teenagers take the birds, wring their necks or use scissors to cut their heads off, and stuff them into barrels. Even if the birds survive strangulation, they will die from their wounds and from suffocation.
If the wounded birds manage to fly outside the shooting range, most will die a lingering and painful death.
The juveniles-disguised-as-adults consider the birds litter, and don't pick them up if they fall outside the shooting range.
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| Pennsylvania's shame |
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