In riot, disorderly conduct and related offenses, providing for the offense of use of live pigeons for target.
Summary
HB1097 would amend Pennsylvania’s Crimes and Offenses title to create a new summary offense for using live pigeons as targets in a contest or event. The bill covers anyone who willfully organizes, operates, conducts, or knowingly allows a premises to be used for a shooting event where live pigeons are launched or presented as targets for amusement or marksmanship practice. The offense applies to fixed shooting fields and includes both manual and mechanical or electronic means of presenting the birds.
The bill is narrowly drafted and does not appear to regulate ordinary hunting or wildlife-related activities. It expressly excludes conduct authorized under Pennsylvania’s Game Code, dog training activities permitted under that code, and activities conducted under a special permit under the Pennsylvania Code. If enacted, the measure would take effect 60 days after passage and would add a new offense to the state’s criminal code rather than creating a civil penalty or regulatory scheme.
Impact
HB1097 would add a new section to Title 18 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, making the use of live pigeons as targets a summary offense when done in the context of a contest or shooting event. It would give law enforcement and prosecutors a specific statutory basis to address pigeon-shooting events and to hold organizers, operators, and premises owners or lessees responsible when they knowingly permit such activity. The bill would not alter lawful hunting, dog training, or permitted wildlife-related activities under Title 34 or related regulations.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be introduced in a straightforward, animal-welfare-oriented posture. The sponsor list suggests support from a sizable group of House members, but there is no recorded vote history here to show formal legislative sentiment. The bill’s narrow exemptions indicate an effort to target only live-pigeon shooting contests while avoiding broader impacts on lawful game and training activities.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely to be the use of live animals in shooting contests versus the preservation of traditional sporting or training practices. Supporters would likely view the bill as an animal cruelty or humane-treatment measure aimed at ending a specific practice, while opponents may argue it interferes with lawful sporting events or property use. The explicit carve-outs for Game Code-authorized activity, dog training, and special permits suggest lawmakers anticipated concerns about overbreadth and sought to limit the bill’s reach to pigeon-target contests specifically.