PETA, are you serious???

[neutral88]

Wimbledon under fire for pigeon cull
Jun 24, 1:03 pm EDT

Buzz Up PrintLONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - Wimbledon came under fire from animal activists on Tuesday for using marksmen to shoot down dive-bombing pigeons.

The tournament employs two hawks to scare away pigeons who had become a pest swooping down on Centre Court and distracting players in the middle of tense matches.

But the hawks failed to keep the pigeons away from the players' lawn and the open-air media restaurant so marksmen were called in.

"The hawks are our first line of deterrent, and by and large they do the job,"? Wimbledon spokesman Johnny Perkins said.

"But unfortunately there were one or two areas where the hawks didn't deter the pigeons, so it was deemed necessary to take a harder approach,"? he explained.

The marksmen were summoned by Wimbledon as pigeon droppings on the restaurant tables were thought to be a health hazard.

The decision to call in the marksmen was condemned as "cruel and illegal behaviour"? by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which complained to the tournament organisers and the police.

"Since the use of marksmen to kill pigeons appears to have been carried out as a first, rather than a last resort, and not out of a concern for public health, but rather because the animals were deemed inconvenient by players, you appear to be in clear violation of the law,"? PETA vice-president Bruce Friedrich said.

(Reporting by Paul Majendie, Editing by Clare Lovell)

[imported_drgnfly3030]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: neutral88</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
“Since the use of marksmen to kill pigeons appears to have been carried out as a first, rather than a last resort, and not out of a concern for public health, but rather because the animals were deemed inconvenient by players, you appear to be in clear violation of the law,” PETA vice-president Bruce Friedrich said.
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Funny, I think I just read that they were called in because the <u>hawks</u> weren't able to deter them. Let them sit at one of the tables and have pigeons crap on them. Maybe then they'll stfu.
I'm surprised PETA hasn't done protests on exterminators. Heaven forbid you kill a cockroach without trying to reason with it! I think I'll go eat a steak in celebration of their idiocy. [img]/LDPforum/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[neutral88]

go ahead, i'm havin pigeon BBQ

[imported_trumpet1988]

I am a member of the true PETA which is PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS!

Seriously though, I wish that the People for the "Ethical" Treatment of Animals would stay out of things.

[imported_elp6n]

Most folks know I'm all for treating animals humanely, work with animal rescue, hug some trees, etc. But even I can't handle PETA. It's a cult that does nothing but collect big $ without using it to further their original cause. It's just lining some pockets.

It reminds me a lot of how the Red Cross has ended up (except the Red Cross has actually done some good).

[imported_trumpet1988]

Yeah, the Red Cross doesn't protest at someone because they don't like what they are eating for dinner.

I can tolerate a tree hugger. The ones that I cannot tolerate are the ones who blame warm weather on global warming. Some of my friends on this trip were blaming the hot weather they had at home when we got here on global warming. Come on, it's the month of June. And I cannot tolerate the ones who are jumping on the bandwagon about it and cannot express an educated or informed opinion. You do not fit the description of the ones who annoy me.

But I think it is time that PETA quits disturbing the peace. I hate groups that violate the right to free speech such as PETA, Code Pink, ALF, and the Westboro Baptist Church.