By Kath Rogers
Sent by Brian Pease
“Bring your guns and a trash bag” were the instructions
from resident organizers in rural Auburn, New York in anticipation
of an event they called their “annual crow shooting contest.” The
event organizers planned the contest for the weekend of February
1st, and recruited hunters from the surrounding areas from local “bird
watching” and “sport hunting” lists. The organizers jokingly admitted
in advertisements for the event that the hunt was “just for fun!” despite
their own attempts to legitimize the contest by claiming a goal
of “crow population control,” which, as wildlife advocates explained
to Auburn residents, is the opposite effect such an event would
have on the crow population in the long term.
In reality, when
hunters temporarily lower the number of animals in a certain
population, it decreases competition for food which has the
effect of inversely
raising procreation levels. The increased procreation levels
result in more offspring and a higher overall population the
following
season. The organizers faced vehement opposition to the event,
which was scheduled to eradicate as many crows as possible,
collect the dead birds in trash bags and count the bodies at local
sports
bars, where awards would be given to those with the most.
KS-Redwing blackbirds have a peace fight for people and crows.
Photo by Suzi Dobbelaere
The weeks leading up to the event gained the attention
of national animal rights groups, activists and Auburn citizens
alike. The mayor of Auburn and other local officials posted their
public opposition to the contest on the Auburn county official
website, which had a full page condemning the event. Animal advocacy
groups such as the Fund for Animals, People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals and the Humane Society of the United States tried without
success to have the event cancelled through attempts to impose
restraining orders on the hunters and withdraw local support from
the contest. As the event drew nearer, Auburn residents, horrified
by the proposed massacre in their town, collaborated with animal
rights activists to do whatever necessary to stop the brutal event.
Protestors held signs with messages such as “Shoot
Pool, Not Crows” and “Live and Let Live: Stop the Slaughter.” When
groups of activists found the hunting sites, they began leading
the crows to safety with the “danger calls” to warn the birds of
peril and other loud devices to frighten them from the areas. They
were met with defensive hostility from hunters, who had four activists
arrested on the charges of “interfering with the lawful taking
of wildlife” and “trespassing”. Bryan Pease (24) Buffalo, NY,
Laura Carver (24) Ithaca, NY, Tim Slate (24) Boston, MA, and
Milo S?
(21) Ithaca, NY were all arrested and taken to the Niles county
jail. They were released later that day on $100 bail. At the
end of the day, Auburn citizens and activists felt a bitter-
sweet
victory, as they grieved the loss of 151 crows, but celebrated
the thousands anticipated to be killed that had been saved by
their actions.
The activists went out again on February 2nd, the
second day of the contest. Again they drove the span of the county
to find hunting sites. Activists had encounters with hunters
as they protected crows on the second day of the contest as well.
Four activists were arrested at the request of two angry hunters
and charged with “trespassing,” even though they had not warned
them that they were on private land.
197 crows were killed on the second day of the contest.
Between both days of the event, 348 crows were killed in total.
The crow advocates, although saddened by the news of the lives
lost that weekend, considered their actions to have been a huge
success for the tens of thousands of crows the hunters had planned
on eradicating.
[Editor’s Note: After it was announced that the crow-killing
contest would be officially called off for all future years,
the organizers of the crow contest changed their minds (or whatever
you would call it) and will continue these contests due to encouragement
they received from out-of-state killers. Animal groups are working
on stopping it legally, and activists promise to return to save
the crows once again. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard
to stop the insanity. See www.savethecrows.org ]
