Animal rights group says drone shot down


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A remote-controlled aircraft owned by an animal rights group was reportedly shot down near Broxton Bridge Plantation Sunday near Ehrhardt, S.C.

Steve Hindi, president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness), said his group was preparing to launch its Mikrokopter drone to video what he called a live pigeon shoot on Sunday when law enforcement officers and an attorney claiming to represent the privately-owned plantation near Ehrhardt tried to stop the aircraft from flying.

"It didn't work; what SHARK was doing was perfectly legal," Hindi said in a news release. "Once they knew nothing was going to stop us, the shooting stopped and the cars lined up to leave."

He said the animal rights group decided to send the drone up anyway.

"Seconds after it hit the air, numerous shots rang out," Hindi said in the release. "As an act of revenge for us shutting down the pigeon slaughter, they had shot down our copter."

He claimed the shooters were "in tree cover" and "fled the scene on small motorized vehicles."

"It is important to note how dangerous this was, as they were shooting toward and into a well-travelled highway," Hindi stated in the release. He said someone from SHARK called the Colleton County Sheriff's Department, which took a report of the incident.

The Colleton County Sheriff's Department filed a malicious damage to property incident report.

According to the report, Hindi told the responding deputy the group's remote-controlled aircraft "was hovering over U.S. 601 when he heard a shot come from the wood line. The shot sounded to him that it was of small caliber."

The incident report went on to state that "once shot, the helicopter lost lift and crash landed on the roadway of U.S. 601."

The deputy noted in the report that he was unable to speak to anyone at Broxton Bridge Plantation following the incident.

Hindi estimated damage to the drone at around $200 to $300.

Hindi said he will seek charges against those who shot down the drone.

"This was SHARK's first encounter with the Broxton Bridge Plantation, but it will certainly not be the last," Hindi said in the release. "We are already making plans for a considerably upscaled action in 2013."

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Pigeon hunts are legal and the license fees for such hunts fund a lot of states fish & game budgets. From the hunters perspective they get the meat and a serious challenge as pigeons are FAST.

OTOH the animal rights people make a habit out of harassing hunters, and there are cases where they have gone so far as to injure or kill them. Arson, bombings, etc. too. That's why some are classified as terrorist groups. They certainly have NO friends in these parts.

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Pigeon hunts are legal and the license fees for such hunts fund a lot of states fish & game budgets. From the hunters perspective they get the meat and a serious challenge as pigeons are FAST.

OTOH the animal rights people make a habit out of harassing hunters, and there are cases where they have gone so far as to injure or kill them. Arson, bombings, etc. too. That's why some are classified as terrorist groups. They certainly have NO friends in these parts.

pigeons are not that fast ;D though there was one super pigeon that took 3 .22s to the chest...

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even in the air isnt it trespassing anyway?

I would have thought so as well but they had lawyers and police who supposedly couldn't stop them.

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so guey fired ahora into the air at a moving target? idiota they could killed someone.

You don't know the first ****ing thing about bird hunting, do ya sport?

How about this idea: if you have never owned and/or shot a gun, stay the **** out of gun related threads here, OK? You (and others like you) sound like idiots when you talk about things you have NO knowledge of.

I would have thought so as well but they had lawyers and police who supposedly couldn't stop them.

When lawyers and police can't stop them from flying the drone, a good shot from a hunter certainly can. LOL Hey, all he has to say is that he mistook it for a pigeon.

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pigeons are not that fast....

Columbidae = pigeons & doves. References to 'pigeon' hunts usually mean doves, which can scoot along at up to 60 mph in level flight. They are one of the most hunted bird species in the US with an annual harvest of 45-50 million birds in over 40 states. And yes, they're great eating.

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I cant wait until the price to go down on a drone. I want one! I bet it fun to fly

You can pick up a cheap helicopter or plane with a built in digital camera for under $80 at most toy stores. Probably the same kind of thing they were using.

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Hogs-Hawk-Eye-Blue/dp/B004SQ3FFO

http://www.amazon.com/Air-Hogs-Hawk-Eye-Helicopter/dp/B004OYOEYQ/ref=pd_sim_t_3

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