Protesters' drone shot at Berks County pigeon shoot

November 18, 2012

Lehigh Valley The Morning Call

Pigeons apparently weren't the only target Sunday at a Berks County gun club's controversial event, state police at Hamburg said.

During the Wing Pointe Gun Club's pigeon shoot in Perry Township, someone also shot and damaged a remote-control drone that protesters were flying to film the event, police said.

Police said damage to the machine and its camera was estimated at $4,000.

The investigation continued, and anyone with information was asked to call the Hamburg barracks at 610-562-6885.

Pennsylvania is the only state in the nation to openly allow live pigeon shoots, according to the Humane Society of the United States. Animal rights groups criticize the shoots as cruel, but efforts to block them have regularly stalled in the Legislature.

— Riley Yates