Yes they should be allowed.

I feel that we are loosing the war of "cruelty to animals" little by little against people that don't know anything about nature. What a shame. I'm sure Pigeons will still be shot in PA no matter what happens.

Bryan, I believe you have the wrong idea of what they mean by "pigeon shoots". What you are refering to sounds more like a dove hunt, except with pigeons instead of doves. The kind of pigeon shoots I'm assuming they are talking about in the story are the caged pigeon shoots. If you are not familar with what I am talking about let me explain.

If you can recall one of the beginning scenes in Charles Dicken's "A Tale of Two Cities", where one of the French royalty was shooting pigeons as they were released from a cage some distance away. This is what they are referring too. It has been a common practice for hundreds of years, and it is were the shooters with REAL MONEY can be found. Many times it is a competition and the way it is set up you have to not only kill the pigeon but also kill it and make it fall in a certain area for it to count. A lot of money can be bet at events like this. Let me also say, pigeon shoots today in the states are done on the down low. It is by invitation only, so that the animal crazies don't show up.

Finally, to adress whether I feel that shooting pigeons with their tail feathers pulled out so that they flie crazy and not in a straight line constitutes animal cruelty or not. Well I do think it is unfair to the animals and a waste of perfectly good birds. It was one thing in the 18th century when there was no such thing as a clay target and certainly no machine to throw it, but in todays age of trap, skeet, sporting clays, five stand, and a variety of other clay target games, a body can stay busy for a lifetime shooting clays, and hunting wild birds which have a fair chance.

With that said, I will certainly never be seen protesting a pigeon shoot. I feel the same way about baiting bears. I would not do it, but I wont sit around and say that others should not do it. For me it is a personal choice to hunt wild animals in their natural habitat without the use of artificial (to the animals habitat) attractants.

If read that entire post you are as bored as I am since we are done cleaning up from our bar-b-que and the rain screwed up the fire works thing.

This is what happens when liberal democrats take over. They've tried to ban dove hunting in a number of states as well and dove hunting is the most popular form of bird hunting in the USA. I've been on "English style" tower shoots where various birds were released and hunters rotate between stations. The shots are generally challenging and I'd estimate more than 50% of the birds escape. Elections matter- if we don't get more people into hunting and more hunters voting it's only a matter of time before PETA takes over.

I agree with Kevin. Shooting birds that are released from a cage isn't too fair. All it really is is gambling. They pay so much to be a part of the event for a chance to win money.

Caged shoots like this make all hunting look bad and frankly it should. When the public sees caged, launched animals being tossed in front of hunters, what message is passed about fair chase and respect for wildlife? It is long past time for hunters to put an end to slob hunting practices that make everyone look bad. Why is the NRA wasting time and resources on this? Are there not enough important issues that don't make hunters look so stupid?

I'm shocked to find so many of you actually defending pigeon shoots. Of course this isn't hunting. Of course this is animal cruelty. Geez! Caged shoots where nobody eats the birds and people bet on the outcome (and yes, that is what we are talking about here) is akin to dog fighting. It's abhorrent. Look, the NRA is big and powerful enough to protect our guns, and that's all well and good. But don't let them think for you. Pigeon shooting is wanton cruelty--plain and simple. Hunters should be leading the movement to get rid of the slobs who participate so they can no longer muddy our name.

Leach is a moron, who ironically "shoots" his mouth off way too often. He uses causes like this for political reasons so that when he is in a non-hunting crowd he can point to this Bill. I suggest that you individually support his opponent, who ever they maybe with your wallet so that we can get this idiot out of a position of authority.

Is this the kind of pigeon shoot where the pigeons are captive-raised and then released from cages to be shot at?

If so, that is not hunting. I am a dove hunter and have no problem with hunting doves or pigeons. But shooting caged pigeons is not hunting. It's farming pigeons and then executing them for fun. I'd say that PA is justified in prohibiting that just as we have laws on the books regarding how other animals are treated in the process of farming and slaughtering them.

I have no more opposition to the passage of this law than I would to a regulation requiring that factory farmed pigs be given X volume of space to move around in.

Anyone who participates in that sort of pigeon shoot will get no support from me. I don't consider such people to be fellow hunters. Just unethical slobs with shotguns. They give the rest of us a bad name.