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Animal rights group takes credit for flying remote helicopter shot over Pennsylvania pigeon shoot
A remote-control helicopter and camera sustained $4,000 in damage when they were shot over a pigeon shoot in Berks County, Pennsylvania State Police say.
Protesters of the shoot at the Wing Pointe Gun Club on Moselem Springs Road in Perry Township, Pa., were using the eight-rotor octocopter to film the pigeon shoot when it was damaged about 3:10 p.m. Sunday, according to a police report.
Police said they do not know the shooter's identity. The police report labels the incident as criminal mischief.
The helicopter operator, Steve Hindi, president of Geneva, Ill.-based Showing Animals Respect And Kindness, said he was able to bring the helicopter down and avoid a crash but fears it may be a total loss. A member of his animal rights group put the damage at $4,000, Hindi said.
Police did not name the person or group who had been flying it over the event. Hindi said his group goes to Wing Pointe "fairly regularly." Sunday, Hindi said he and others were on public lands adjacent to the club and using the helicopter to document the event.
A search of the video website YouTube turns up several unflattering videos claimed to have been shot at Wing Pointe, including several purportedly posted by Showing Animals Respect And Kindness. The videos' titles describe the club as a "killing resort" and "animal abuser's paradise."
Wing Pointe, on its website, calls itself a "resort luxury for the sport shooting enthusiast." A message left seeking comment with the club was not immediately returned this morning.
Hindi said a lot of people mistakenly believe pigeon shoots went away after the closure of the annual Labor Day Pigeon Shoot in Hegins, Schuylkill County, Pa. A 1999 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision ruled that cruelty officers could bring charges against pigeon-shoot participants, leading to the end of the Hegins hunt.
Wider availability of high-definition cameras paired with YouTube and social media sites such as Twitter have allowed his group to broaden its audience, in its effort to close down privately held shoots.
"The numbers dropped because we were now showing faces and in some cases putting names to faces," Hindi said.
Animal rights advocates say live bird shoots such as the one staged Sunday amount to animal cruelty.
A state Senate bill, SB 626, would prohibit "use of live animals or fowl for targets at trap shoot or block shoot." The measure is stalled in the Senate after passage in April 2011 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, where state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Monroe/Northampton, voted for its approval. The bill's lead sponsor is state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh/Monroe/Northampton.
Police say the investigation is continuing and ask anyone with information to call 610-562-6885. The incident number is L04-1250780.
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2012/11/remote_helicopter_shot_damaged.html
A remote-control helicopter and camera sustained $4,000 in damage when they were shot over a pigeon shoot in Berks County, Pennsylvania State Police say.
Protesters of the shoot at the Wing Pointe Gun Club on Moselem Springs Road in Perry Township, Pa., were using the eight-rotor octocopter to film the pigeon shoot when it was damaged about 3:10 p.m. Sunday, according to a police report.
Police said they do not know the shooter's identity. The police report labels the incident as criminal mischief.
The helicopter operator, Steve Hindi, president of Geneva, Ill.-based Showing Animals Respect And Kindness, said he was able to bring the helicopter down and avoid a crash but fears it may be a total loss. A member of his animal rights group put the damage at $4,000, Hindi said.
Police did not name the person or group who had been flying it over the event. Hindi said his group goes to Wing Pointe "fairly regularly." Sunday, Hindi said he and others were on public lands adjacent to the club and using the helicopter to document the event.
A search of the video website YouTube turns up several unflattering videos claimed to have been shot at Wing Pointe, including several purportedly posted by Showing Animals Respect And Kindness. The videos' titles describe the club as a "killing resort" and "animal abuser's paradise."
Wing Pointe, on its website, calls itself a "resort luxury for the sport shooting enthusiast." A message left seeking comment with the club was not immediately returned this morning.
Hindi said a lot of people mistakenly believe pigeon shoots went away after the closure of the annual Labor Day Pigeon Shoot in Hegins, Schuylkill County, Pa. A 1999 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision ruled that cruelty officers could bring charges against pigeon-shoot participants, leading to the end of the Hegins hunt.
Wider availability of high-definition cameras paired with YouTube and social media sites such as Twitter have allowed his group to broaden its audience, in its effort to close down privately held shoots.
"The numbers dropped because we were now showing faces and in some cases putting names to faces," Hindi said.
Animal rights advocates say live bird shoots such as the one staged Sunday amount to animal cruelty.
A state Senate bill, SB 626, would prohibit "use of live animals or fowl for targets at trap shoot or block shoot." The measure is stalled in the Senate after passage in April 2011 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, where state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Lehigh/Monroe/Northampton, voted for its approval. The bill's lead sponsor is state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh/Monroe/Northampton.
Police say the investigation is continuing and ask anyone with information to call 610-562-6885. The incident number is L04-1250780.
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2012/11/remote_helicopter_shot_damaged.html
