Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania SPCA agents yesterday executed a search warrant at a suspected dog fighting operation on the 6000 block of Allman Street in West Philadelphia. Officers expect to rescue at least five dogs. In addition to the animals, a large amount of suspected dog fighting paraphernalia including a treadmill and a fighting ring have been found. The owner of the property has a history of dog fighting and is under investigation again. Animal fighting is a felony of the third degree in Pennsylvania.
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A New Jersey contractor is in court today outside Harrisburg on charges that he committed animal cruelty when he slammed a wounded pigeon on his vehicle during a live pigeon shoot at the Erdman Sportsman's Association. The incident was caught on videotape by SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness(SHark)a group advocating for a ban on the shoots. The attorney representing Richard Pieros of Readington told My Central Jersey that the charges were “ongoing harassment against an activity which is lawful."
A 78-year-old woman participating in a humane society-sanctioned feral cat management program in Biloxi was found guilty of "hoarding." Dawn Summers was caring for a colony of 27 cats, most of them spayed and neutered, when she was charged for exceeding the city's six-cat limit. Alley Cat Allies, the only national feral cat advocacy group, came to her defense and the case is under appeal. "This conviction is a travesty,” said Becky Robinson, president and co-founder of Alley Cat Allies. “Ms. Summers had been working within a city-approved program, providing an extremely valuable community service by ensuring that feral cats in her neighborhood were neutered and vaccinated, and stabilizing the population."