Here is information about the substance behind the event. I MEANT to include this with the first National Pigeon Day e-mail so as not to clog up inboxes any more than I already have this morning. Sorry! e National Pigeon Day 2010 Saturday, June 19 10 am to 3 pm Pilgrim Hill, Central Park (you can enter at 5th Ave & 72nd Street) New York, NY Speakers....entertainment....bring a non-animal picnic lunch if you like. Please come out on out on this special day to honor our special birds -- New York City's pigeons...our heroes and friends in a sometimes otherwise hostile environment. Have you noticed the beauty of a pigeon's flight -- strong yet graceful, and oh that perky "pigeon walk", and the cuteness of a pigeon's head bobbing up and down... and those beautiful pigeon colors, hypnotic gaze and melodic cooing. Let's face it, New York City is pigeon obsessed. But not is all well in Pigeonland as *Stuart Chaifetz*, an investigator for *SHARKhttp://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1044378127&msgid=5493716&act=4BOP&c=41417&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharkonline.org%2F%3FP%3D0000000854 * will tell us. He will speak about legislation that is pending in Pennsylvania that will put an end to people shooting pigeons for sport in that cruel state if pigeon shoots and hunting become outlawed. Pigeon shoots are competitions wherein hundreds to thousands of live birds are shot at to win prizes. A typical 3-day shoot contest can kill and injure up to 15,000 birds. The pigeons are captured and collected for weeks ahead of time, then released from trap boxes only yards away from the so-called "sportsmen". The birds are generally dazed and suffering from dehydration or starvation as they are sprung out of the boxes. Rather than mercifully being given a quick death, 70% of the birds are injured when shot and either left to suffer slow deaths or collected and killed by pigeon shoot "trapper boys" or "wringers", traditionally children, who break their necks, step on them, tear off wings, suffocate them, or cut off their heads with garden shears, among other abuses. Pigeon shoots are nothing more than a vile excuse for entertainment for the dull-witted or psychopathic. Illegal in other countries and in all but a couple of American states, most people realize the despicable nature of these bird-killing contests. *Anne Muller*, president of *Wildlife* *Watch*http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1044378127&msgid=5493716&act=4BOP&c=41417&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wildwatch.org%2F, an organization that operates a national hotline for those who find injured or orphaned wild animals will tell us about calls that Wildlife Watch receives from people who find exhausted "racing" pigeons who simply drop down from the sky and would die but for the help of those who find and rescue them, and those who rehabilitate them. Anne will be talking about government wildlife agencies and what needs to be done to give pigeons protection. Wildlife Watch publishes exposes of the mismanagement of wildlife by government wildlife agencies. The following quote is straight from the current NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) website: *The few unprotected species include porcupine, red squirrel, woodchuck, English sparrow, starling, rock pigeon, and monk parakeet. Unprotected species may be taken at any time without limit. A hunting license is required to hunt unprotected wildlife with a bow or firearm. * However the NYS Environmental Conservation Law deems pigeons “unprotected wildlife”, what does this term of art mean? Does it mean that pigeons are exempt from animal cruelty laws or does it have a very limited application? *Lori Barrett, Esq*, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, attorney, and member of the New York City Bar Committee on Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals, will explain that there are several laws that indeed do protect pigeons from cruelty in New York State, and she will discuss how animal advocates can use these very laws to protect pigeons, and correct the popular misconception that pigeons are not protected by laws. *Ellen Kalish*, president and founder of *Ravensbeard, *http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1044378127&msgid=5493716&act=4BOP&c=41417&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ravensbeard.org%2Fa prime wildlife rehabiliation center and sanctuary near Woodstock, NY will talk about pigeons from a wildlife rehabilitator's perspective. She will share her experience caring for exhausted "racing" pigeons, and pigeons who've been afflicted with other injuries or illness. *Peter Muller*, the chair of the *League of Humane **Voters-NY*http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1044378127&msgid=5493716&act=4BOP&c=41417&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lohv-ny.org%2F and the chief lobbyist for LOHV in NYS and heads the lobbying action in Washington DC as part of AR2010http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1044378127&msgid=5493716&act=4BOP&c=41417&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arconference.org%2Fwill speak about the importance of political involvement to help pigeons. He will talk about current bills pending in the NYS Legislature that will help pigeons and other unprotected wildlife and will talk about possible new laws to expand on those protections and offer new ones to the noble pigeon. *Steven Bennett* of Cambridge, Ohio, will be discussing the legendary history of the passenger pigeon and why they are now extinct. In a very positive and uplifting light, he will give a presentation that covers the bird’s routines in migration, diet, nesting, territory, habitat, and the amazing size of the flocks. Flocks that came as endless hurricanes. Once numbering in the billions, man’s destruction of the passenger pigeons brought down this army of feathers to a single bird ~ Martha ~ and in 1914, ultimate extinction. Mr. Bennett reveals how even today, we all share a connection with the passenger pigeon. *Scott Massarsky*, composter of the National Pigeon Day Anthem will perform, as well as *Pet Rox Music*. NPD blog: http://www.nationalpigeonday.blogspot.comhttp://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1044378127&msgid=5493716&act=4BOP&c=41417&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalpigeonday.blogspot.com Please crosspost and tell your friends. Coo, coo, coo Anna Dove This message was sent from New York Bird Club to AdoptKings@gmail.com. It was sent from: New York Bird Club, P.O. Box 286231, New York, NY 10128. 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