Updated 9/26/26 — URGENT: HB 1097 was voted out of committee on September 24th. With only 8 session days left, please contact your state representative NOW and urge them to support HB 1097 and help move it to a vote before session ends. Find your legislator: https://www.palegis.us/find-my-legislator – enter your home address, select your State Representative, then use the contact information provided to call and email their office.
WHAT IS A LIVE PIGEON SHOOT? Live pigeon shoots are brutal contests in which live birds – often illegally captured and transported into Pennsylvania – are used as living targets. Shooters fire at close range, earning points for every bird they strike within a set distance. Observers have documented that 70% of the birds are merely wounded, left to suffer in agony. Bucks County has long been a center of live pigeon shooting in Pennsylvania, but the practice is spreading. In September 2026, Humane World for Animals documented a live pigeon shoot at the Erdman Sportsmen’s Association in Dauphin County, including disturbing video footage of the event.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH PIGEON SHOOTS? Everything. These events are horrifyingly cruel, causing immense animal suffering. Neighbors of a pigeon shoot held along the Delaware River have witnessed wounded birds suffering for hours or even days, including birds that fall into the river and drown. Before the shooting begins, pigeons are crammed into boxes, disoriented and terrified. They are then launched into the air only to be gunned down. Shooters earn points based on where the birds fall, turning their suffering into a gruesome game. After each round, wounded birds are collected—often by untrained youth—who kill them in horrifying ways: by snapping necks, slamming them against the ground, or even cutting off their heads. Observers have found live birds mixed among the corpses, left to suffer for hours or even days after the event ends.
Pigeon shoots have been compared by opponents to illegal dog fights or cockfights—cruel spectacles where animals are tormented for gambling and entertainment. These events operate in secrecy, with many participants coming from out of state. Shooters can test their marksmanship with clay targets instead of live birds.
TRADITIONAL SPORTSMEN OPPOSE LIVE PIGEON SHOOTS: Most hunters recognize the difference between hunting and shooting a disoriented, captive bird launched from a box. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has opined that a narrowly tailored ban, as provided for in this legislation, will not affect any legal hunting activities in Pennsylvania. Pigeon shoots are not traditional hunting activities, and there is nothing sporting about close-range shooting of mechanically launched, dazed, weakened and disoriented birds. Opposing inhumane live pigeon shooting events does not mean you are anti-gun: Shoot away! At clay!
WHO SUPPORTS LIVE PIGEON SHOOTS? A small but well-funded group of pigeon-shoot supporters has fought efforts to ban the practice. Spotlight PA reported that PACs connected to pigeon-shoot supporters contributed nearly $150,000 to Pennsylvania legislators in 2024, including donations to key lawmakers as the legislation was being considered.
WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG TO END THIS SENSELESS CRUELTY? For 30 years, this bill has not received a vote as a standalone bill. The closest it came was in 2014, when the Senate passed a bipartisan bill banning the eating of dogs and cats, after adding the pigeon-shoot ban. In 2024, after successfully passing out of committee, it stalled once again, never receiving the expected House vote. Now, HB 1097 has once again passed committee. This bill deserves a vote!
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP END LIVE PIGEON SHOOTS: HB 1097 has passed the House Judiciary Committee, but there are only 8 session days remaining. Contact your state representative NOW and urge them to support HB 1097 and help move it to a vote before session ends. Find your legislator here — enter your home address, select your State Representative, and use the contact information provided to call or email their office.
You can also contact your state senator and ask them to support SB 1159, introduced by Senators Lisa Boscola and Jay Costa, which remains in the Senate Judiciary Committee.