8 min read Who is stealing NYC pigeons?

<p> ZeroOne on Flickr </p>

This summer in July, in the centre of civilization - one of New York City's largest parks - the following scene took place: A white van drives up to a flock of pigeons, men come out of it, scoop hundreds of pigeons up in a giant net, get back in the van and take off. Here are some questions about what went down and answers you'll wish you'd never read. The By-standers Didn't anyone interfere? This was far from the first mass pigeon abduction. The people of NYC have for some time been reporting that exact "men in a white van" scenario, all cases taking place in popular pigeon spots around the city. Most citizens assume these are city officials, carrying out some form of pigeon pest control. Therefore, nothing is being done. The men get away every time.

Suzanne LaGasa on Flickr

The Abductors Who is stealing the pigeons and what for? Witness reports from Washington Square Park say it was just two men. However, it is a known fact that there is an entire organisation standing behind the abductors. Yes, organised pigeon crime. It's a mindless, cruel and, worst of all, legalbusiness that organises "pigeon shoots". For this purpose, pigeons are trapped, have their wings clipped, and then launched into the air as a target for someone to shoot at. Where are they taking them? "Once they net them, they take the pigeons to a place in Brooklyn, they box them up with no water and no food, obviously they are very stressed, they then look at them - some have a broken wing or foot from the netting; a couple days later, they are taken to Pennsylvania, sold as food, sometimes sold as quail, but for the pigeon shoots mainly. They clip their wings.." - Tina Trachtenberg



The end destination is Pennsylvania - soon to remain in history as the state welcoming animal cruelty. Open fields, armed men and pigeons shot into the air to become somebody's moving target practice.



Who is profiting and who is sponsoring? Believe it or not, there's a lot of money to be made from such insanity. The people who steal the pigeons get about 2$-3$ per 'piece', which adds up to nearly 900$ a week. However, the people organising the live pigeon shoots - they get 50$ per pigeon! Bored, stupid, rich people pay a good amount of money to participate in the West's most disgusting sport, mistaking cruelty for entertainment. All of this, brought to you by the National Rifle Association* - a legal, multi-million establishment. For reference, the NRA's CEO - Wayne Lapierre - gets an annual salary of $972,000 for his contribution to society. The Law Live pigeon shoots are a tradition in PA, one that activists have been trying to stop for decades. Here you can read all about their fruitless efforts to get the House of Representatives to even consider banning the events in 2014. The NRA* interfered with a heart-warming campaign on freedom and weapon privilege. In the meantime, NY police is 'investigating' and watching the park cameras closely. A symbolic effort at best. Officials are not getting any closer to putting a stop to the pigeon shoots and are obviously not getting any help from legislators, pressured by multi billionaires and po werful conservative figures. What's left? The people. Vigilance and action is expected out of regular people like you and me, because it won't come from anywhere else. Most of all - compassion!

A memorial for the abducted pigeons in Washington Square Park