Statement by The HSUS in Response to V.P. Cheney's Shooting Spree

[Guest guest]

http://www.hsus.org/ace/20130

 

Statement by The HSUS in Response to V.P. Cheney's Shooting Spree at a PA Canned

Hunting FacilityDecember 9, 2003

 

WASHINGTON--Monday's hunting trip to Pennsylvania by Vice President Dick Cheney

in which he reportedly shot more than 70 stocked pheasants and an unknown number

of mallard ducks at an exclusive private club places a spotlight on an

increasingly popular and deplorable form of hunting, in which birds are

pen-reared and released to be shot in large numbers by patrons. The ethics of

these hunts are called into question by rank-and-file sportsmen, who hunt

animals in their native habitat and do not shoot confined or pen-raised animals

that cannot escape.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported today that 500 farm-raised pheasants were

released yesterday morning at the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township for the

benefit of Cheney’s 10-person hunting party. The group killed at least 417 of

the birds, illustrating the unsporting nature of canned hunts. The party also

shot an unknown number of captive mallards in the afternoon. Click here to read

the Post-Gazette's story.

“This wasn’t a hunting ground. It was an open-air abattoir, and the vice

president should be ashamed to have patronized this operation and then

slaughtered so many animals,” states Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of

The Humane Society of the United States. “If the Vice President and his friends

wanted to sharpen their shooting skills, they could have shot skeet or clay, not

resorted to the slaughter of more than 400 creatures planted right in front of

them as animated targets.”

The Humane Society of the United States deplores the shooting of captive birds

and animals where traditional “fair chase” hunting ethics are discarded and

kills are guaranteed. We are campaigning to outlaw canned hunts through federal

and state legislation. Our opposition is more thoroughly delineated in an

opinion page essay by Pacelle in today's edition of The New York Times (page

29).

The HSUS is the nation’s largest animal protection organization with more than

seven million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for

animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection,

wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and

sustainable agriculture. The HSUS has protected all animals through legislation,

litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and field work. The non-profit

organization, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2004, is based in

Washington, DC and has 10 regional offices across the country. For more

information, visit The HSUS’ Web site – www.hsus.org.

 

 

 

 

 

NEW WEB MESSAGE BOARDS - JOIN HERE.

Alternative Medicine Message Boards.Info

http://alternative-medicine-message-boards.info

 

 

 

New Photos - easier uploading and sharing