Let’s Finally Ban Live Pigeon Shoots in PA!

Let’s Finally Ban Live Pigeon Shoots in PA!

by Jessica Breen | Sep. 16, 2025

Pennsylvania is one of the last states where live pigeon shoots–in which birds are shot at close range to earn “points”–are still legal. Learn more about these cruel events and how you can join HAP’s fight to pass HB1097, a bill that would finally ban them statewide.

Pigeons are intelligent, loving individuals

First, it’s important to recognize the complex cognitive, social, and emotional abilities of these often overlooked birds:

  • Pigeons maintain close friendships and monogamous relationships, forming a lifelong bond with their mate and grieving upon their death.
  • Pigeons can recognize humans even with a change in appearance, and can distinguish between different humans in photographs.
  • Pigeons have remarkable cognitive skills, including the ability to count to nine (which typically only primates can do), recognize words, memorize over 700 visual patterns, distinguish between Picasso and Monet paintings, and detect cancer in radiology images.

Pigeons endure extreme suffering during live shoots

During live pigeon shoots, birds who have been captured and brought into PA—often illegally from neighboring states—are shot at close range by shooters who earn points for each kill.

  • Cruel from start to finish: In preparation for the shoot, pigeons are kept in small boxes and then launched one-by-one into the air by a spring-loaded bottom. The birds are disoriented and confused as the shooter opens fire, and observers estimate that 70% of them are wounded but not killed outright.
  • Child corruption: After each round, birds within the shooting circle are collected–often by children–and killed by breaking their necks or slamming, snapping, or snipping the heads off. This is not only cruel–it also contributes to the desensitization of young kids.
  • A slow, painful death: Birds not within the shooting circle are often forgotten about and left to die. Neighboring property owners around the shoots have watched wounded birds slowly bleed to death over hours–or even days.
  • Gambling on agony: Shooters earn “points” for each bird shot within a certain range. Similar to dog fights, participants gamble on the outcome and the “winners” receive prizes for killing the most birds.

Working in conjunction with a vast group of advocacy groups throughout the state, HAP is advocating for the passage of HB1097, a bill to enact a statewide ban on live pigeon shoots. We’re also urging the Pennsylvania Game Commission to ban the events.

Thankfully, there is overwhelming support for a ban on live pigeon shoots from a wide variety of organizations and communities across PA, including:

  • Nearly every major and minor newspaper in the state
  • Respected organizations such as the Veterinary Medical Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Pennsylvania Council of Churches
  • Animal Wellness Action, Humane PA, ASPCA, Pennsylvania Federation of Humane Societies, Humane Society of Berks County (where many of the shoots take place), as well as most shelters and animal organizations in the state

On a more local level, HAP worked with the Pittsburgh City Council in 2020 to strengthen the Wild Bird ordinance that prohibits the trapping, harming, and selling of pigeons–a good sign that the city would also embrace a ban on live pigeon shoots.

How you can take action

We need your support to get HB1475 passed! Here’s how you can help:

Want more ways to take action for animals? Join HAP’s Action Team!

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