LONDON, 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.

They talked about that yesterday during the opening round live coverage--sarcastically with smirks on their faces. It was pretty funny.

As an aside, I volunteered at a raptor rehab center for a semester in college and one of the vets that ran the joint brought one of his hunting falcons in that he used to hunt rabbits with. He casually remarked that he had bought it in Iran for $50K!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Growing up, I used to go hunting with my uncle and his Goshawk. I mostly got to be a flusher and occasionally got to retrieve the chicks from his freezer to thaw for feeding time. He let me hold it once while it was hooded ... it was heavier than I thought it would be.

He also had a white owl and an ocelot. The ocelot was scary, it screamed like a human.

__________________
Chad
2006 Nissan Pathfinder LE
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OBK#44
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work." - Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

SOLD
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1986 300SDL - Coda
1991 - 300TE
1995 - E320
1985 300CD - Gladys

Wow, what a wonderful uncle to have!

B

They do the same thing at airports for obvious reasons..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-xnIMuZBlQ

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Ich liebe meine Autos!

1991 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL | Megasquirt MS3-Pro | 722.6 transmission w/ AMG paddles | Feind Motorsports Sway Bar | Stinger VIP Radar | AntiLaser Priority | PLX Wideband O2 | 150A Alternator | Cat Delete
1981 Mercedes-Benz 300SD | Blown engine, rebuilding someday...
1981 Mercedes-Benz 300SD | Rear ended, retired in garage.
2009 Yamaha AR230HO | Das Boot

Excessive speeding? It ain't excessive till I redline!

Funny. The only falcon my dad had when I was alive was a Ger-Prarie falcon. It seemed to like hunting grasshoppers more so than birds. He did have a Harris Hawk and that thing terrorized adult racoons even great horned owls!

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

pigeons are useless, disease spreading birds

Nah. they are really fun to kick! Just kidding. I wouldn't do that. much.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual