Pigeon shoots ended, animal rights group claims victory
A yearslong saga between an animal rights group and U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe over pigeons has ended.
Inhofe’s re-election campaign in previous years has hosted annual pigeon shoots to raise funds. Those shoots have drawn the ire of Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, or SHARK, an Illinois-based group which considers them cruel.
On Jan. 19, Inhofe’s field representative, Baxter Lewallen, wrote an email to an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation game warden, announcing an end to the shoots.
“I am happy to let you know that this year, and going forward, we are going to halt the ‘old world pigeon shoot’ in favor of wild dove hunts on both Friday and Saturday,” he said. “I know this event has caused some tension in the past, so I hope this move will allow us to rebuild those relationships.”
In March, Inhofe’s state director, Brian Hackler, sent an email to the same game warden, reiterating an end to the shoots.
“As many of you probably heard we will not be doing the pigeon shoot this year,” he said.
The emails, obtained through an open records request, were released by SHARK on Tuesday.
“This cancellation is a very positive turn of events,” said Steve Hindi, the group’s outspoken president. “Many innocent birds will now be spared a horrific death at the hands of Inhofe and his donors. It took a very public campaign, but Senator Inhofe made the right decision.”
Luke Holland, a spokesman for the Inhofe campaign, downplayed the change.
“The Inhofe campaign has long held a very successful dove hunt event each year. In a few recent years, the event has included a pigeon shoot,” he said. “This year we will not have that component of the event and will return to our traditional format; we expect it to be a record year and hope everyone who attends has a wonderful time.”
During pigeon shoots, live birds raised in captivity are tossed by hand into the air and shot by hunters, often as part of a competition. Mainstream animal rights groups, such as the Humane Society, oppose the practice.
SHARK has homed in on Inhofe’s shoots, using undercover activists to film videos of the events and rescuing pigeons injured during the shoots. When SHARK attempted to use a drone to record the fundraiser in 2015, it was hit by gunfire.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel determined a state water official, Tom Buchanan, inadvertently violated a federal law, the Hatch Act, by allowing the pigeon shoot on federal land in 2014. Buchanan was sent a warning letter and Inhofe’s campaign dismissed the matter as “inconsequential.”
Stuart Chaifetz, a SHARK investigator who took part in the undercover recordings, claimed victory Tuesday.
“We said then that we would never stop fighting as long as Inhofe held pigeon shoots, and we are proud to say that oath has been fulfilled,” he said. “However, we will continue to watch Inhofe and hold him accountable for any other violations of law.”