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
-
May 4, 2009
Pa. Bill Could Ban Mechanical Launching
Pennsylvania introduced a pigeon shoot bill for 2009.
-
May 4, 2009
The HSUS Praises Pa. Bill to Ban Mechanical Launching of Animals for Target Shooting
The HSUS and humane organizations across Pennsylvania welcome the introduction of anti-cruelty legislation to prohibit the mechanical launching of live animals for target shooting.
-
March 31, 2009
Citizen Lobbyists Flock to Pa. Capitol to Urge Lawmakers to Protect Animals
Pennsylvanians will gather at the state capitol and meet with their lawmakers Tuesday to encourage them to pass legislation to protect animals.
-
March 10, 2009
The HSUS Calls on Evans County Wildlife Club to End Rattlesnake Roundup
The HSUS calls on the Evans County Wildlife Club to end the annual rattlesnake roundup near Claxton, Ga.
Our Victories
-
June 29, 2009
Settlement Restores Endangered Species Act Protections To Great Lakes Wolves
A coalition of wolf advocates led by The HSUS has reached a settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore federal Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Great Lakes region.
-
June 22, 2009
Federal Court Blocks Captive Hunting of Endangered Species
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia struck down a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule allowing captive hunting of endangered antelopes.
-
June 4, 2009
Conn. Lawmakers Pass Bill to Ban Chimpanzees as Pets and Prevent Internet Hunting
After a tragic incident involving a pet chimpazee, Connecticut lawmakers vote to prohibit residents from keeping great apes as pets.
-
May 28, 2009
Minn. Legislature Adjourns With Victories for Animals
The HSUS thanks Minnesota lawmakers for their work to protect animals in the 2009 legislative session.