Live Pigeon Shoots Are 'Animal Cruelty': Bucks Co. Lawmaker

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —State Rep. Perry Warren's bipartisan bill prohibiting live pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania has been approved by the PA House Judiciary Committee.

Noting that Pennsylvania has already outlawed other forms of animal cruelty, Warren introduced the legislation (H.B. 2139), which now heads to the full House for consideration.

“Dog fighting, cock fighting, and greyhound racing have already been prohibited," Warren said. “In 2017, even possessing the implements to raise or train an animal for death in the name of gambling became illegal. Yet, pigeon shoots are presently exempted from Pennsylvania’s animal cruelty law.”

He said there is still at least one regularly scheduled live pigeon shoot in Pennsylvania, which takes place annually in Bucks County.

Unlike regular hunting in the wild, the pigeons involved in these events are raised in captivity specifically to get shot, with very little sport involved for the humans participating.

“Thank you to Representative Perry Warren and the Animal Protection Caucus for their leadership to finally end these barbaric contests in Pennsylvania,” senior vice president of the Animal Humane Society of the United States Heidi Prescott said. “Shoot clay, not pigeons.”

“It is far past time for our commonwealth to fully and finally end events which bet on the lives of animals by ending live pigeon shoots,” Warren said.

Warren represents the 31st Legislative District in Bucks County, comprised of Lower Makefield Township, Newtown Borough, Newtown Township, Upper Makefield Township, and Yardley.