The four-day pigeon slaughter at the Broxton Bridge Plantation in South Carolina is over, but SHARK's presence will not soon be forgotten.
See all the videos from this event by clicking here.
Pigeon shooters, as we have seen time and time again, are cowardly and reprehensible. They know that too which is why they have gone to extremes to stop us from exposing them and their horrid acts. Throughout the four days in South Carolina, we saw this in action; shooters hiding their license plates and furious that we were there.
What happened Sunday, however, was beyond belief; as soon as we began to prepare to launch our Angel remote controlled aircraft, the pigeon shooters ran away. And we mean that literally. They got into their cars and left Broxton Bridge rather than be caught on video!
Not at first, of course. First they tried to intimidate us by sending out the police and a lawyer, who frantically tried to scare us into shutting down operations. We ignored them, as what we were doing was perfectly legal. Once they knew nothing was going to stop us, the shooting stopped and the cars lined up to leave.
It was an amazing sight watching them run. These vile people had no problem wounding and killing birds for pleasure, but as soon as the spotlight turned to them, they showed their true and pathetic colors.
We decided to send the copter up anyway. Seconds after it hit the air numerous shots rang out. As an act of revenge for us shutting down the pigeon slaughter, they had shot down our copter.
We retrieved the Angel and called the police, who, unsurprisingly, took their time getting out. We filed a report and will follow through on charges.
Whatever the outcome, it was worth the cost of repairs to have dealt such a serious blow to this former slave plantation. We will be back next year and in a larger force.
There will be much more to come on this issue. We will:
* Ask that Broxton Bridge be charged under the South Carolina animal cruelty statutes abandonment clause.
* Hold Field and Stream accountable for advocating the shoot down of our aircraft.
* Expose Governor Haley for what we have come to learn is a string of anti-animal actions.
* Expose the few shooters who did attend.
Attendance was low this weekend, most likely due to our forewarning and the media attention. We know Broxton Bridge invited 120 people - but only about 20 showed up!
Stay tuned and active and help us to make this the last pigeon slaughter at Broxton Bridge!
In the meantime, please keep the pressure on South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Field and Stream. Please be polite.
Governor Nikki Haley
Phone: (803) 734-2100
Fax: (803) 734-5167
