Shelter bashing wasn’t planned

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

A late summer wave of shelter-bashing by

animal rights groups took humane workers by

surprise, including some of the most outspo-

ken critics of shelter administrations. Protests

outside numerous shelters on Homeless

Animals Day, August 22, coincided with

campaigns against the management of the

Primarily Primates shelter in San Antonio,

Texas, and the Defenders of Animal Rights

shelter in Phoenix, Maryland. (See separate

items.)

Guest Column: Violence and hatred won’t stop the pigeon shoot by Marjorie Spiegel

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

The string is pulled. The lid of the box opens,

and a bird flutters a few feet up into the air and is imme-

diately shot once, twice. If it is a clean shot, the bird

lies motionless. The crowd cheers. “That one’s dust,”

says a spectator. If the shooter is less accurate, we see

one wing, perhaps, twitching in the air, or a bird strug-

gling on the field. Boys in yellow shirts run to the birds,

throw a body in the bag, twist a neck, then into the same

bag. Sometimes a commotion: someone has made it

onto the field. She is pursued, yet reaches the string

lines or the boxes. The lids open, and eight or so pigeons

fly off to freedom, the most beautiful sight on a day

filled with much to be sorry for.

That is the essence of the Labor Day pigeon

shoot in Hegins, Pennsylvania: some people wish to use

these pigeons for target practice, and others wish to see

this ended and to let the pigeons go free.

Editorials: Welcome to ANIMAL PEOPLE!

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

With your substantial help and patience, we’re here, just six weeks after offi-

cial incorporation, ten weeks after announcing our intent to publish.

At that, we’re a week later than we’d hoped to be. Vital equipment failed and

had to be replaced on warranty; learning to use new software took longer than expect-

ed; the delay meant we had a lot more news to write up; and we can’t yet afford the

second Mac system we’ll need to avoid pre-deadline bottlenecks.

We’re paying no salaries so far. Although we could easily distribute 100,000

copies if we could afford to have that many printed and sent to distribution points, our

initial press run is a fraction of that size; we’ll get there when we can. Because our

start-up capital consisted of only good credit and a contribution from our first sub-

scriber, Mary Melville, we’ve had to contact other potential subscribers in small incre-

ments, a circumstance offset by your overwhelmingly positive response. In fact,

you’ve given us a rate of return on subscription appeals that direct mail marketing

experts swear is impossible.

KKK defends pigeon shoot; 2,000 protest Labor Day bird massacre but 5,000 support it. Time for new tactics?

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

HEGINS, PENNSYLVANIA — A pigeon hit point-blank by a shotgun blast looks

like a spreadeagled angel for just a split second, until the pellets tear her white breast and wings

to pieces and she flaps to the ground, awaiting the trapper boys who will wring her head off.

Wounded angels to some, doves of peace to others, and flying rats according to the

human participants, 5,000 to 7,000 pigeons are shotgunned each Labor Day at the Fred Coleman

Memorial Pigeon Shoot in Hegins, Pennsylvania. Held annually since 1934, the shoot was

reputedly dying of disinterest a half century later; but no more. Two thousand protesters turned

out this year, nearly double last year’s then-record number. Lured by the chance to heckle, be

on TV, and maybe see someone get killed dashing in front of the guns to save pigeons, the

crowd of shoot supporters doubled as well, to an estimated 5,000. Among them were several

motorcycle gangs and two robed and hooded Ku Klux Klan members from Ephrata, Penn., who

explained that they saw the event as a good chance to recruit.

Hurricane Andrew: Noah was there! Disaster spotlights preparation

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

MIAMI, FLORIDA — Thousands of

animals drowned, were swept to their deaths

by winds reaching 200 miles an hour, or were

crushed by falling trees and collapsing build-

ings. Fragile habitat was harmed from southern

Florida to coastal Louisiana. But while

Hurricane Andrew hit too suddenly for anyone

to build an ark, thousands more animals were

saved from the August 24 disaster through the

prompt efforts of volunteer rescuers. As the

human relief response came under critical

scrutiny from victims and the media, observers

had only praise for the contributions of animal

control and humane workers.

CHILDREN & ANIMALS

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

* Representatives of about 50 animal

protection and child protectionorganiza-

tions met September 14 and 15 in Washington

D.C. under the auspices of the American

Humane Association to discuss common prob-

lems and opportunities to seek solutions

together. We were there; watch for a full

report in the November issue of ANIMAL

PEOPLE.

* “Until recently,” charges the current

edition of the newsletter Notes From The

Green World, “the image of the abandoned

Latin American child was of a ragged child

sleeping in a doorway. Today the image is of

a body, lacerated and dumped in a city slum,”

especially in Brazil, where death squads hired

by local merchants torture and exterminate

suspected thieves with perhaps more impunity

than if they shot stray dogs. Editor Walter

Miale cites extensive documentation of his

charges, including by Amnesty International.

Editorials: For leadership, look in the mirror

October 1, 1992 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1992:

ANIMAL PEOPLE subscribers have been quick to endorse our belief that

the most meaningful form of helping animals is tangibly helping animals. We’ve

promised to focus upon individual and community initiatives, together with hands-on

care—the things each of us can do by ourselves or in small groups to collectively make

an immense difference. After over two decades of animal and habitat protection work

at all levels and in most regions of North America, we have come to the inescapable

conclusion that most of the progress on most issues has come about not because of

national campaigns, but rather through one-on-one persuasion, often in the virtual

absence of national campaigns. The number of homeless dogs and cats euthanized in

pounds and shelters is down from over 20 million per year a decade ago to under eight

million now as result of the unending efforts and experiments of local humane societies.

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