Amy Worden
Philly Dawg
October 17, 2014
In history-making action Wednesday the Pennsylvania Senate voted overwhelmingly to end live pigeon shoots.
The passage of House Bill 1750 was not the final vote, but it represented a milestone in the history of animal welfare in the Commonwealth.
It was the first time the upper chamber of the General Assembly ever voted on a pigeon bill and the first time in 20 years a full floor vote on pigeon shoot legislation was held.
Gov. Corbett, through a spokesman, told The Inquirer Thursday he will sign the bill if it clears the House on its final voting day on Monday.
To say the Senate vote was a landmark moment in legislative history is no overstatement. The Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania had placed banning pigeon shoots on its first agenda when it was founded - in 1906.
The bill prevailed with a vote of 36 -12 despite efforts by NRA-backed opponents to pass amendments to derail it, such as a proposal by Sen. Mike Bruubaker (R., Lancaster) to codify the shoots in law and regulate them under the Pennsylvania Game Commission
.(See how your Senator voted on the final bill here.)
The bill also contains a provision to ban the sale of cats and dogs for human consumption.
