AUBURN - More than 140 hunters were expected to be out in force this morning, scouring the countryside for crows as the controversial shoot was starting.
Crow shoot organizers Tom Lennox and Shannon Warren stand in front of the First Annual Crow Shoot T-shirt stand in front of Spinouts Tavern in Auburn. Matthew Hinton / Staff Photographer
Meanwhile, opponents of the shoot said they would be out monitoring the event. They will wait until Sunday to hold "a peaceful demonstration" at 2 p.m. at Memorial City Hall. Several hundred animal rights activists and other supporters of the crows - some from as far as Buffalo and New York City - may be involved in the protest.
Other protesters are expected to be at Spinouts Tavern, where tournament sponsors are supposed to count the dead crows, said Rita Sarnicola, who's leading the effort to stop the crow contest. They'll also be out "monitoring different places" that are possible hunting sites throughout the county, she said.
"We'll be there and around. We'll be coordinating," Sarnicola said, adding some opponents will be helping animal rehabilitators who be trying to save wounded birds.
National group involved
The event went on, in spite of threats Friday night of legal action from The Fund for Animals if organizers Lance Gummerson and Tom Lennox didn't call it off. The national animal rights group indicated it would sue on the grounds that the shoot violates the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act because of the "unlawful disposal of lead shot."
The national group also failed to get an 11th-hour restraining order from a federal court in Syracuse Friday night because the court had no after-hours procedure.
"I got something from Federal Express, but it doesn't really matter," Gummerson said Friday night about paperwork apprising him that The Fund for Animals was going to sue him. "I am not calling it off, no way. This isn't the first time someone has threatened to sue me."
Gummerson and Lennox organized the shoot to help get rid of the 25,000 to 50,000 black birds that roost in the city every winter.
But opponents called the event a senseless contest. Michael Markarian, president of the Fund for Animals, said Friday from his office in Silver Spring, Md., that the crow shoot was "illegal and inhumane and that we will do everything we can to stop it."
The threat
Meyer & Glitzenstein, the Washington, D.C., law firm representing The Fund for Animals, argued in its paperwork that the "crow killing contest - wherein participants will attempt to shoot the highest number of crows in a short period of time - will result in the concentrated release of lead shot into the environment around Auburn." That release is illegal and subject to a $50,000 fine and jail time, according to Jonathan Lovvorn, an attorney with Meyer & Glitzenstein, because "lead shot is a hazardous solid waste."
Gummerson said the disposal of lead shot only applies in a limited number of cases where hunters shoot near bodies of water.
Although the agency was unsuccessful in getting the injunction, Markarian said The Fund for Animals would explore a future injunction to prevent organizers from doing the event again. He said a complaint might also be filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, opening up Gummerson and Lennox to criminal charges.
Even with the contest starting this morning, Sarnicola promised she and other opponents of the contest will try to put a permanent end to the event. "We want to make sure that this doesn't happen again," she said.
Crow broadcasts
The crow shoot has generated far-reaching media coverage. The New York Times is covering the event, along with other television stations and newspapers from Rochester to Albany.
On Friday afternoon, the eight-to-10 volunteers involved in helping to put on the crow shoot worked on completing the registration at Spinouts Tavern for 35 four-man teams.
"We're just making sure all our ducks are in a row," Lennox said.
The shoot has been billed as a charity event, but two non-profit organizations didn't want anything to do with the crow shoot and said they would not accept the donations. Lennox said that he and Gummerson have found three other groups to use the proceeds of the event, but he wouldn't identify them. "We don't want to get anyone in trouble," he said.
A state Department of Environmental Conservation officer was going to be on hand during the hunt. Two crow experts, a Cornell University professor checking for the West Nile disease in the birds and another scientist, will be checking the crow population during the event.
Staff Writer Erik Sorenson contributed to this story. To reach Staff Writer Craig Fox, call 253-5311, ext. 237.
Other protesters are expected to be at Spinouts Tavern, where tournament sponsors are supposed to count the dead crows, said Rita Sarnicola, who's leading the effort to stop the crow contest. They'll also be out "monitoring different places" that are possible hunting sites throughout the county, she said.
"We'll be there and around. We'll be coordinating," Sarnicola said, adding some opponents will be helping animal rehabilitators who be trying to save wounded birds.
National group involved
The event went on, in spite of threats Friday night of legal action from The Fund for Animals if organizers Lance Gummerson and Tom Lennox didn't call it off. The national animal rights group indicated it would sue on the grounds that the shoot violates the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act because of the "unlawful disposal of lead shot."
The national group also failed to get an 11th-hour restraining order from a federal court in Syracuse Friday night because the court had no after-hours procedure.
"I got something from Federal Express, but it doesn't really matter," Gummerson said Friday night about paperwork apprising him that The Fund for Animals was going to sue him. "I am not calling it off, no way. This isn't the first time someone has threatened to sue me."
Gummerson and Lennox organized the shoot to help get rid of the 25,000 to 50,000 black birds that roost in the city every winter.
But opponents called the event a senseless contest. Michael Markarian, president of the Fund for Animals, said Friday from his office in Silver Spring, Md., that the crow shoot was "illegal and inhumane and that we will do everything we can to stop it."
The threat
Meyer & Glitzenstein, the Washington, D.C., law firm representing The Fund for Animals, argued in its paperwork that the "crow killing contest - wherein participants will attempt to shoot the highest number of crows in a short period of time - will result in the concentrated release of lead shot into the environment around Auburn." That release is illegal and subject to a $50,000 fine and jail time, according to Jonathan Lovvorn, an attorney with Meyer & Glitzenstein, because "lead shot is a hazardous solid waste."
Gummerson said the disposal of lead shot only applies in a limited number of cases where hunters shoot near bodies of water.
Although the agency was unsuccessful in getting the injunction, Markarian said The Fund for Animals would explore a future injunction to prevent organizers from doing the event again. He said a complaint might also be filed with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, opening up Gummerson and Lennox to criminal charges.
Even with the contest starting this morning, Sarnicola promised she and other opponents of the contest will try to put a permanent end to the event. "We want to make sure that this doesn't happen again," she said.
Crow broadcasts
The crow shoot has generated far-reaching media coverage. The New York Times is covering the event, along with other television stations and newspapers from Rochester to Albany.
On Friday afternoon, the eight-to-10 volunteers involved in helping to put on the crow shoot worked on completing the registration at Spinouts Tavern for 35 four-man teams.
"We're just making sure all our ducks are in a row," Lennox said.
The shoot has been billed as a charity event, but two non-profit organizations didn't want anything to do with the crow shoot and said they would not accept the donations. Lennox said that he and Gummerson have found three other groups to use the proceeds of the event, but he wouldn't identify them. "We don't want to get anyone in trouble," he said.
A state Department of Environmental Conservation officer was going to be on hand during the hunt. Two crow experts, a Cornell University professor checking for the West Nile disease in the birds and another scientist, will be checking the crow population during the event.
Staff Writer Erik Sorenson contributed to this story. To reach Staff Writer Craig Fox, call 253-5311, ext. 237.
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