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A fire department whose motto is to “save lives” is hosting a shocking event to end them.

On February 28th, the Holley fire department in upstate New York is hosting its ninth annual “Squirrel Slam,” a squirrel hunting contest that raises funds for the fire station. Hunters who kill the heaviest squirrels win cash and other prizes.

Hunter carries dead squirrels to the weigh in

Hunters hang dead squirrels on hood of truck and out the window

The “Squirrel Slam” is nine years old, but animal right activists only learned about it two years ago. In 2013, Friends of Animals (FOA) offered to host an alternative fundraiser that would raise more money that the squirrel hunt, but the fire department turned them down. In 2014, FOA staged a demonstration that attracted 60 people. Video shows hunters and their supporters taunting, harassing and, in a couple of cases, threatening the protesters.

Activists have also been working to cancel the hunt online and in court. For the Love of Alex, a charity that provides veterinary care to pets in urgent need, sent a letter to the Mayor of Holley offering to pay the fire department to call off the hunt:

“We, as citizens, look to our government, police and fire officials to set examples of conduct and decency, of fairness and compromise. For a fire department to sponsor and organize the mass slaughter of innocent living beings in the name of fun is really the wrong message to send your constituents and our children, who you have invited to participate. We implore you to consider permitting our 501c3 org to donate to the Holley Fire Dept. the amount equivalent to last year’s net proceeds from the event, which we understand to be the sum of $4,000, in exchange for cancellation of the event.”

About 60 people protested Holley’s 2014 “Squirrel Slam.” The 2015 slam is being held on 2/28

On the legal side, an area resident filed a lawsuit to block the hunt on the grounds that it violates the State Environmental Quality Review Act, which prohibits the destruction of large quantities of vegetation or animals in a confined geographic area. On February 19th, a county judge heard arguments and dismissed the case.

Counter-protesters support the hunters during 2014 Squirrel Slam

When activists brought the squirrel hunt to the attention of state lawmakers, several introduced legislation to outlaw all killing contests in New York. At a press conference announcing the bill, Senator Tony Avella said, “Running a contest in which participants must kill as many small and defenseless animals as possible to win prizes, including guns, is a disgrace. What kind of message are we sending to our youth, especially in light of the increasing gun violence in this country.”

FOA’s Edita Birnkrant & State Senator Tony Avella announce bill to ban wildlife killing contests

1. Sign the petition to the Mayor of Holley and to the Holley Fire Department asking that they cancel the 2015 “Squirrel Slam”

2. Sign the petition to State Lawmakers to support the legislation to end wildlife killing contests in New York.

3. If you live in New York, please ask your state legislator to support the legislation prohibiting wildlife killing contests.

4. Call the Mayor of Holley, NY and explain why the “Squirrel Slam” should be cancelled. Dial 585-638-6367 and press 5 to reach a live person or leave a message.

In an attempt to distance himself from the ranch run by his family that sells canned hunts, Matthew McConaughey has said that he sold his share of the company in 2011. Why then did the LP Ranch’s website include, until February 4, 2015,  a photo of McConaughey on its “Meet the Staff” page with a caption that described him as a “co-owner?” Was McConaughey, who is a major celebrity, allowing his brother and nephew to falsely identify him as an owner and staff member to promote the business? After the news spread to major media outlets, LP Ranch removed McConaughey’s photo from its website.

On February 4, LP Ranch removed the photo of Matthew McConaughey from its “Meet the Staff” page which described him as a “co-owner.”

After our story about Matthew McConaughey’s hunting business went viral, TheirTurn gave TMZ an “exclusive” on the news, and they posted their story within a couple of hours:  “Matthew McConaughey Ranch Draws Fire Over Trapped Deer Kills.” Once TMZ posted the story, it was picked up by dozens of other media outlets including The Daily News, MSN and The Daily Mail.

TMZ spoke to McConaughey’s nephew Madison, who runs the ranch:

“We reached out to Matt’s rep … so far no word back. But the actor’s nephew, Madison McConaughey — the ranch cattle manager — tells TMZ they’ve had death threats from people who don’t understand the nature of what they do. He says, ‘People are disgusted with us but we’re disgusted with them.’ Madison adds, people who come there do so for the ‘hunting experience’ and he says ‘We’re proud of what we do.’

The TMZ story includes a video interview with Madison McConaughey.

In canned hunts, animals are confined to a fenced in area with no way to escape. Because canned hunt operators often feed the animals, the animals are unafraid of people. In Zimbabwe and other areas in South Africa, lions are raised from birth by canned hunt operators. Tourists help to finance the operation by paying to interact with the tame lions, who, when fully grown, are transferred to a canned hunt site where tourists pay up to $100,000 to kill a mature male.

Donny Moss from TheirTurn.net (on the right) investigates canned hunt operation masquerading as a conservation group in Zimbabwe

Following is a one minute video explaining and showing a canned lion hunt in Africa:

UPDATE (6:00 p.m., February 4) –  Matthew McConaughey’s spokesperson says that he sold his interest in the ranch in 2011, in spite of the fact that LP Ranch’s website described him as a “co-owner” and “staff” member as of February 4th, 2015. His photo was removed from the website on the day the news broke in the mainstream media. Stories about the controversy have been published in The Daily News, TMZ, The Daily Mail and many other media outlets.

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Actor Matthew McConaughey, a former spokesman for the “Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner” ad campaign, co-owns a ranch that sells canned hunts. According to his company’s website, “We at LP Ranch pride ourselves with our whitetail deer hunts.”

With his brother Mike, actor Matthew McConaughey owns a cattle ranch that sells canned hunts.

McConaughey purchased the LP Ranch in 2001. Six years later, the ranch “decided it was time to expand” by selling canned hunts. For visitors spending the night, the ranch offers “Old West” accommodations with a “modern touch” so that “after the hunt, our guests can feel assured to eat some great meals and relax in all out comfort” (unlike the animals who they killed for fun that day).

“Relax in all out comfort” after shooting deer at Matthew McConaughey’s Ranch

LP Ranch also sells horses who are “ready for any ranching task that may be asked of them” and cattle who they “treat in a way that will allow them to be ready for any conditions.” According to his nephew Madison who is LP’s “Cattle Manager,” McConaughey is a “big beef man” who “feels it’s important to raise Angus cattle and support the beef industry.” In fact, McConaughey was a beef industry spokesman  in 2010:

Canned hunts are among the cruelest forms of hunting. Not only is the other “team” unarmed and unaware that they are being targeted, but they are also confined to a fenced in area with no possible way to escape. In 2011, HSUS conducted an undercover investigation of canned hunting operations to educate the public about this outrageous “sport.”

The 6,000 member Dallas Safari Club will auction off rare animal hunts this weekend during the banquet at its annual convention, which is a “showcase of hunting, sporting and outdoor adventure,” according to the Club’s website. During the auction, “bidders of any age or gender” will have the chance to bid on “amazing items,” including “youth hunts in New Zealand and Texas, a challenging Mid-Asian ibex hunt in Russia, and a bongo hunt in Cameroon.”

One of dozens of animal hunts at Dallas Safari Club Auction

The 2014 convention made international headlines when one attendee, Corey Knowlton, paid $350,000 to shoot an endangered black rhino in Namibia. Mr. Knowlton, who has purportedly received death threats, tells critics that he is motivated by “conservation.” Specifically, he claims that his substantial contribution will be allocated to rhino conservation efforts and that killing the rhino in question would actually benefit other rhinos in the area who he has been attacking.

But, if conservation is really Mr. Knowlton’s motivation, then why doesn’t he allocate a small part of his winning bid to relocate him?  And, if he’s concerned that the menacing rhino is harming the others, then why hasn’t he  shot him down hasn’t he done it in the 12 months since he won the bid?  Could it be because the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has not yet issued a permit to import the rhino’s body and that Mr. Knowlton has no intention of returning from Africa without his “trophy.”

In an interview with Jane Velez-Mitchell on JaneUnchained.com, Christopher Gervais, the director of the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival & Biodiversity Conference, says that killing animals is not the way to preserve them: “You do not hunt a vulnerable species in the name of conservation. Other organizations are conserving without hunting and killing.” Conservation funds. he says, can be raised through photography safaris during which animals are shot with cameras instead of guns.

Shooting rhinos with cameras

Please let the Dallas Safari Club know what you think of selling trophy hunts by contacting them through Facebook or its website.

On September 5th, U.S. Senator James Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, hosted a pigeon shooting party to raise funds for his re-election campaign.

In spite of the Senator’s efforts to keep out animal rights activists, an undercover investigator from SHARK infiltrated the event and took close-up footage. During the hunt, 1,000 captive birds were thrown into the sky and shot down. Those who escaped from the killing field with gunshot wounds suffered and died over a period of hours or days.

On Tuesday, SHARK is holding a press conference to announce that it has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding multiple potential violations of state and federal law, including the use of federal property, state employees and government vehicles for a political fundraiser and the transport of pigeons across state lines.

Bob Barker, the former host of the Price is Right, recently narrated a short public service announcement to raise awareness of canned pigeon hunts:

Please share these videos and take a moment to learn about the critically important work done only by SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect & Kindness) to protect animals who are tormented and killed in canned hunts, rodeos, and other exploitive “sports.”