The Brutal Spectacle at West Seattle
Protesters condemn the planned Fourth of July pigeon shoot as cruel and lacking in true sportsmanship.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In another column appears a communication from a correspondent who protests against the proposed shooting of live birds at West Seattle on the Fourth of July. To us, it seems that our correspondent is right. The shooting of live birds which are kept in captivity until they have lost the ability of easy flight, and are released only to fall helpless victims to the marksman's shot, is cruel and inconsistent with the teachings of Christianity and the instincts of a refined humanity. To shoot live birds in this manner is not sportsmanlike. True sportsmanship gives the hare an equal chance with the hound. In live bird shooting there is no display of skill which could not be equally well made by shooting at clay pigeons or glass balls, and it should afford no pleasure to bring down birds by the score without giving them a chance for their life. Shooting of this kind is about as sportsmanlike as clubbing chickens to death in a barnyard.
“Shooting of this kind is about as sportsmanlike as clubbing chickens to death in a barnyard.”
This early debate over 'live pigeon shoots' highlights a shifting Victorian morality regarding animal cruelty and the definitions of sport. While Seattle long ago moved away from this specific brutality, the tension between 'tradition' and evolving ethical standards remains a constant feature of civic debate in the region.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.