US senator announces end to annual pigeon shoots

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, before the House subcommittee on Energy and Power hearing on the "Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A years long battle between an Illinois-based animal rights group and a U.S. senator from Oklahoma about shooting pigeons has ended. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe’s re-election campaign would host annual pigeon shoot fundraisers, outraging nonprofit Showing Animals Respect and Kindness. In a series of emails released under an open records request Tuesday, Inhofe’s team wrote in January and March to an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation game warden saying Inhofe would stop hosting such events. SHARK President Steve Hindi says the decision “is a very positive turn of events.” Inhofe’s shooting events had sparked outrage because captive birds would be tossed into the air and shot by hunters, often as part of a competition. SHARK used undercover activists to film videos of the events and rescue pigeons injured during the shoots.