In contest kills, slaughtering animals is a game. Participants try to kill the largest, smallest or most animals for cash or other prizes. Contest kills most often target prairie dogs, coyotes and pigeons, and treat these living animals as disposable game pieces.
In coyote calling contests, teams bring dead coyotes to a check-in point where the bodies are stacked and weighed to find the winner.
Prairie dog shoots seat players at a distance from a prairie dog habitat with high-powered rifles to shoot the animals. Contestants boast of the “red mist” when an animal is blown to bits.
In live pigeon shoots, a shooter stands only yards away as captive birds are launched one at time from boxes. The goal is to shoot the most birds down within a ring. Several thousand birds may be killed outright—or left to suffer a slow death—during a multi-day shoot.
Pennsylvania is the last state to allow live pigeon shoots.
Pa. Bill Could Ban Mechanical Launching
The Pennsylvania House now considers new anti-cruelty legislation to prohibit launching live animals mechanically for target shooting.
Learn MoreNews & Events
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April 28, 2011
Pennsylvania Legislature Launches Animal Protection Caucuses
Pennsylvania lawmakers and animal advocates celebrated the launch of House and Senate Animal Protection Caucuses, bipartisan groups of legislators who will work to advance animal protection legislation in the state.
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April 12, 2011
Animal Advocates Lobby Pennsylvania Lawmakers for Animal Welfare Legislation
Animal advocates from across the state will rally Tuesday at the state capitol in Harrisburg to urge their legislators to enact stronger animal protection laws for 2011Pennsylvania Humane Lobby Day. At the event, citizen advocates will urge their legislators to strengthen laws related to banning pigeon shoots and increasing protections for dogs.
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April 12, 2011
The HSUS Lauds Committee Approval of Bill to Ban Live Pigeon Shoots In Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11 to 3 today in favor of legislation to end target shoots with live pigeons once and for all. Pennsylvania holds the dishonor of being the last place where such cruel spectacles are regularly and openly allowed.
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March 24, 2011
Animal Advocates Lobby Maine Lawmakers for Animal Welfare Legislation
Citizens from across Maine will meet with their lawmakers Thursday at the capitol and urge them to pass a variety of important animal welfare bills during Humane Lobby Day 2011. The HSUS and Maine Friends of Animals are sponsoring the event.
Our Victories
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September 6, 2011
California Legislature Passes Bill Banning Shark Fin Trade
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June 30, 2011
Federal Court Upholds Endangered Species Listing for Polar Bears
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November 3, 2010
Arizona Voters Shoot Down Prop 109
Voters sent a strong message to the Arizona Legislature on Tuesday by rejecting Proposition 109, a referendum that would have amended the Arizona Constitution to give the legislature “exclusive” authority over wildlife issues while seeking to also forbid citizens from initiating statutory petitions.
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September 24, 2010
The HSUS Applauds Gov. Rendell for Cracking Down on Poaching
The HSUS praised Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell for signing an important bill that cracks down on poachers who attempt to hunt in Pennsylvania when their licenses have been suspended in other states.