Pigeon shooting is a type of live bird wing shooting competition. Traditionally, there are two types of competition: box birds and columbaire. In box birds, the pigeons are held in a mechanical device that releases them when the shooter calls out. In columbaire, the birds are hand thrown by a person when called upon. The pigeons are bred for speed. The most common species of pigeon used in regulated shooting contests is known as a ''zurito'' (''
Columba oenas
The stock dove (''Columba oenas'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western Palearctic.
Taxonomy
The stock dove was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl L ...
''). In the shooting competition, large sums of money are gambled and winners can have purses exceeding US$50,000. The equipment for the sport can be specialized and purpose-built.
In the past, the sport was popular worldwide. It was primarily a sport of the
upper class
Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
and was held at resort locations such as Monaco and Havana. Popular magazines have covered the sport—for example, ''
Field & Stream
''Field & Stream'' (''F&S'' for short) is an American online magazine focusing on hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities. The magazine was a print publication between 1895 and 2015 and became an online-only publication from 2020.
History ...
'' and ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' But, over time, the sport has fallen out of widespread favor due to costs, alternative shooting sports such as
trap shooting
Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays.
They are disting ...
,
skeet shooting
Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants use shotguns to attempt to break clay targets which two fixed stations mechanically fling into the air at high speed and at a variety of angles.
Skeet is one of the t ...
, and
sporting clays
Sporting clays is a form of clay pigeon shooting, often described as "golf with a shotgun" because a typical course includes from 10 to 15 different shooting stations laid out over natural terrain. For safety, the course size is often no smaller ...
, and animal rights activism over a blood sport. Proponents of the sport argue that live pigeons are more challenging to shoot than clay targets. Many claim that pigeon shoots are no more cruel than extermination efforts carried out in cities where
feral pigeons
Feral pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia forma urbana''), also called city doves, city pigeons, or street pigeons,Nagy, Kelsi, and Johnson, Phillip David. ''Trash animals: how we live with natures filthy, feral, invasive, an ...
are considered a nuisance and are often controlled using lethal methods.
The
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the United States federal executive departments, federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, ...
euthanizes over 60,000 pigeons a year in response to complaints.
In the past, events used to be publicly posted. The sport still exists in pockets around the world, but generally, it is not well publicized and it is only hosted in select locations, such as private gun clubs typically by invitation only.
In the United States live pigeon shoots have been held on large privately owned
ranches
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
and
plantations
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
in the South.
Usually, this is to avoid the attention of protesters inevitably attracted by the events. Animal rights activists have begun deploying
drones in an attempt to disrupt live pigeon competitions.
In the past, U.S. Senator
Jim Inhofe
James Mountain Inhofe ( ; born November 17, 1934) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oklahoma, a seat he was first elected to in 1994. A member of the Republican Party, he chaired the U.S. Senate Commit ...
held annual live pigeon shoots in Oklahoma as part of a political fundraiser. In 2015 a drone operated by an animal rights group was shot down while flying over Inhofe's fundraiser that was being held at a remote ranch.
In 2017 due to protests from animal rights groups Inhofe replaced his annual live pigeon shoot with a wild
dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
hunt.
Venues and championships
Tournaments and competition during beginning to mid-twentieth century were worldwide. In the 1900 Paris Olympics, live pigeon shooting was one of the events. The prize for the winner was 20,000 French Francs (more than US$82,000 in 2017), though the top four finishers agreed to split the prize money.
Early to mid-20th century
The following table shows the host cities and winners of the pigeon-shooting world championships:
A brief list of some of the active venues in the 1950s:
* Estoril, Portugal - Match of Nations World Championship
* Monte Carlo, Monaco - Prix de
Larvotto
Larvotto (french: Le Larvotto; also known as Larvotto/Bas Moulins; lij, Larvotu ) is the easternmost ward in the Principality of Monaco. It is part of the quarter of Monte Carlo. It has an estimated surface area of and access to the Mediterra ...
and Prix Gaston Rambaud
* Havana, Cuba - The Pan American Live Pigeon Championship, The Grand Prix
* Vichy, France - Grand Prix de Vichy
* Lebanon, Pennsylvania - Miller Memorial
* Hegins, Pennsylvania - Fred Coleman Memorial
* Deauville, France - Prix Roger Dubut
* Paris, France
* Rome, Italy
* Milan, Italy
* Madrid, Spain - Live Bird Championship
* San Remo, Italy
* Valencia, Spain
* Barcelona, Spain - Columbaire Championship
* Seville, Spain - Columbaire Championship
* Guadalajara, Mexico - Open Flyer Championship
* Mexico City, Mexico - World Live Pigeon Championship
* Cairo, Egypt - Match of Nations
In Monte Carlo: 1872 to 1960
Pigeon shooting in Monaco dates back to 1872. The ring was located behind the casino and was in continuous use with live pigeons until 1960, when robotic devices went into use. Slowly, shooting faded out of fashion, and the shooting range was demolished in 1972. After the ring was demolished, a mosaic titled "From the Earth to the Sea" ("De la Terre a la Mer") was installed by
Victor Vasarely
Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement.
His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consi ...
.
The popularity of pigeon shooting at Monte Carlo included creation of new types of gun stocks; the
"Monte Carlo" comb.
The Olympics
![Donald Mackintosh - Stewart & Co (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Donald_Mackintosh_-_Stewart_%26_Co_%28cropped%29.jpg)
Pigeon shooting was a part of the
1900 Olympic Games in Paris, but has not been included other times.
In Pennsylvania
Pigeon shooting in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania dates back to the mid-19th century. The Philadelphia Gun Club overlooking the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
in
Bensalem, Pennsylvania
Bensalem Township is a township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The township borders the northeastern section of Philadelphia and includes the communities of Andalusia, Bensalem, Bridgewater, Cornwells Heights, Eddington, Flushing, Oakford, Sil ...
, is one of the oldest gun clubs in the United States. Founded in 1877 at the height of the
Gilded Age
In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...
the club opened to many socially prominent gentlemen and their ladies. In 1895 the club acquired the historic Bickley Mansion for use as a club house. The club currently has 61 members.
The club attracted many wealthy American sportsmen including several members of the
Vanderbilt Family
The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...
.
William Kissam Vanderbilt II
William Kissam Vanderbilt II (October 26, 1878 – January 8, 1944) was an American motor racing enthusiast and yachtsman, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family.
Early life
He was born on October 26, 1878, in New York City, the second ...
and
Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.
Early years
Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...
who married
Gertrude Vanderbilt in 1896 were both members.
Edward Burd Grubb Jr.
Edward Burd Grubb Jr. (known as E. Burd Grubb) (November 13, 1841 – July 7, 1913) was a Union Army Colonel (United States), colonel and regimental commander in the American Civil War. He served in three regiments and commanded two of them. ...
a former
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
General, businessman and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
politician who was appointed as
United States Ambassador to Spain
The incumbent ambassador is Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón, she was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on January 7, 2022 and presented her credentials on February 2, 2022.
This is a list of United States ambassadors to Spain from 1779 to the ...
by
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
, and was a close associate of
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
was an early president of the club. In addition to the shooting range the club also had a
boathouse
A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
on the river, and kennels for
hunting dogs
A hunting dog is a canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, dachshunds, cur type dogs, and g ...
.
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.
Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...
and her then employer,
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
attended shoots at the Philadelphia Gun Club around the turn of the century.
In 1928, outdoor writer and conservationist
Nash Buckingham
Theophilus Nash Buckingham (May 31, 1880 – March 10, 1971), commonly referred to as Nash Buckingham, was an American author and conservationist from Tennessee. He is perhaps most famous for writing a collection of short stories entitled De Sh ...
, who contributed many articles to ''
Field and Stream'', shot his famous A.H. Fox waterfowl gun, "Bo Whoop", that had been custom built in Philadelphia by gunsmith Burt Becker at the club, as a guest of the magazine's publisher. In the 1930s and 1940s, club members and guests included notables such as writer
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
, who also participated in live pigeon shoots in Europe and Cuba,
and Canadian jazz musician
Charles Biddle
Charles Biddle (December 24, 1745 – April 4, 1821) was a Pennsylvania statesman and a member of the prominent Biddle family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Early life
Biddle was born to a wealthy old Quaker family on December 24, 1745, in Phi ...
.
The controversy surrounding live pigeon shoots at the Philadelphia Gun Club goes back more than a century. A club member was convicted for cruelty to animals for participating in a pigeon shoot in 1887. His conviction was eventually overturned by the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It also claims to be the oldest appellate court in the United States, a claim that is disputed by the Massachusetts Supreme J ...
in 1891.
Pigeon shoots are also held at several other private gun clubs in
Berks and
Dauphin counties.
For more than half a century, a public pigeon shoot was held every
Labor Day
Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...
in
Hegins, Pennsylvania
Hegins (pronounced Higgins) is a census-designated place located in Hegins Township, Schuylkill County in the state of Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located near the community of Valley View at the intersection of Pennsylvani ...
. Held annually from 1934 to 1998, this live pigeon shoot, known as the Fred Coleman Memorial shoot, once drew around 10,000 people. It was finally called off in 1999 following years of protests by animal rights activists and a legal battle that ultimately went all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Current locations
* Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic
* Guadalajara, Mexico
* Spain
* Bensalem, Pennsylvania, US
* Dalmatia, Pennsylvania, US
* Hamburg, Pennsylvania, US
* Henderson, Maryland, US
* Lykens, Pennsylvania, US
Firearms and ammunition
Traditionally, live pigeon shooting guns were heavier than a regular field gun (greater than 7 pounds). Characteristics of them were longer barrels (30-inch with ventilated ribs give better sight plane), tighter
chokes
Choking, also known as foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO), is a phenomenon that occurs when breathing is impeded by a blockage inside of the respiratory tract. An obstruction that prevents oxygen from entering the lungs results in oxygen de ...
(full/fuller), no safety, beavertail forend, single triggers, clipped fences, a third bite,
chambered for 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge shells instead of the 2 1/2-inch 12-gauge shells that were commonly used for hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These extra features were in place to handle the higher pressure loads used for live pigeon competitions where the bird had to be dropped inside the ring. Today, these pigeon guns command a higher premium at auction.
Pigeons used
In Europe, a special breed of rock pigeon is used called a ''zurito'' (''Columba oenas'') (see
stock dove
The stock dove (''Columba oenas'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae, the doves and pigeons. It is widely distributed in the western Palearctic.
Taxonomy
The stock dove was first formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Li ...
). They are small, gray, and exceptionally fast. In the United States feral pigeons captured in urban areas such as
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where they are considered a nuisance, have been used as targets for live pigeon shoots.
Animal rights criticism
Live pigeon shooting was once the sport of
aristocrats
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
in Britain, but was largely abandoned around the turn of the 20th century and the sport was banned in the United Kingdom in 1921.
Opposition to the sport in the United States began in the late 19th century. In 1887
Women’s Humane Society and
American Anti-Vivisection Society
The American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) is an organization created with the goal of eliminating a number of different procedures done by medical and cosmetic groups in relation to animal cruelty in the United States. It seeks to help the be ...
founder
Caroline Earle White
Caroline White ( Earle; 1833–1916) was an American philanthropist and anti-vivisection activist. She co-founded the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) in 1867, founded its women's branch (WPSPCA) in 1869, and f ...
successfully prosecuted Philadelphia Gun Club live pigeon shooter A. Nelson Lewis. Convicted of cruelty in January 1890, Lewis appealed his case all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which overturned the his conviction, ruling in 1891 that live pigeon shoots are a form of hunting and that pigeons are game birds.
As early as the first quarter of the 20th century, editorial pieces began decrying the sport. John Goodwin, director of animal cruelty policy with The
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an American nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scope. It uses strategies that are beyond the abilities of local organizations. ...
, has criticized pigeon shooting.
In the USA live pigeon shooting remains legal but the popularity of the sport has waned considerably since the mid-20th century. It is specifically prohibited by statute in 14 states and has been determined to violate the
animal cruelty
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or Injury, harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm ...
statutes of nine more.
In
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, where gun clubs have hosted pigeon shoots since before the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, live pigeon shooting is specifically exempt from animal cruelty laws.
A 2014 bill for banning pigeon shooting was opposed by the
National Rifle Association of America
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...
. Legislators were apparently convinced and let the bill expire.
In 2015, Pennsylvania Senator
Patrick M. Browne re-introduced Senate Bill 715 to amend Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to further provide for the offense of animal cruelty.
See also
*
Clay pigeon shooting
Clay pigeon shooting, also known as clay target shooting, is a shooting sport involving shooting a firearm at special flying targets known as clay pigeons, or clay targets.
The terminology commonly used by clay shooters often relates to time ...
*
Trap shooting
Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays.
They are disting ...
*
List of medalists at the European Shotgun Championships
This is the list of medalists at the European Shotgun Championships from the first edition held in 1929 (until 1954 the European Shotgun Championships were held in pigeon shooting and only from 1955, they take place in the current configuration).
...
(European Championships of Pigeon Shooting from 1929 to 1954)
*
Pigeon racing at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Pigeon racing was contested at the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 resi ...
References
{{Authority control
Shotgun shooting sports
Animal welfare and rights legislation in the United States
Columbidae