A Letter to My Dog, Half Pint

This last year may have been the worst one of my life, but at least I've got the world's two greatest dogs by my side to help me stagger into 2018. Today's post features a letter to Half Pint. Benjamin will be getting a letter later this week--he'd never let me hear the end of it, otherwise. Also, this posts features a lot of short video clips of Half Pint being silly. Since I apparently can't do anything right these days, they are exclusively shot in vertical mode. Please accept my apologies (and cut me some friggin' slack).

Weird Crime Wednesday: Do you need a hunting license to shoot down an animal rights sponsored aircraft?

(photo @ sodahead.com)

The Bronxton Bridge Plantation in Ehrhardt, South Carolina is an exclusive hunting venue that offers a wide variety of hunting and sporting events throughout the year. These include equestrian camps, bass fishing, and wild hog hunts. 

If you have $375 to burn in early February, you can participate in the annual Flyer Shoot.  What target is worth that much money, you might ask?  Here are a few hints:

1. They hang out in large groups.
2. They like to poop on your car.
3. One pooped on my head last year as I was walking into work.

No, not people that still tune into Glenn Beck.  I'm talking about pigeons.

You hadn't recently washed your car,
so I decided to take a giant crap on your scalp instead

 But a group called SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness) was having none of that.  They were outraged and very much opposed to a "cruel and inhumane live pigeon shoot."

Despite the fact that their acronym is derived from the name of a large predatory fish, SHARK took the protection of the pigeons over Bronxton Bridge Plantation very seriously...so serious that they actually built a pretty cool remote control aircraft to get some in your face video of the horrific carnage in the skies that would be occurring during the shoot.

On February 12, 2012, members of SHARK showed up to the plantation and were met by police and an attorney for Bronxton Bridge.  The attorney tried to say that it was illegal for them to film the air space above the private property, even though they were not going to be filming down onto the property itself.  But as it turns out, being insanely rich does not mean that you own the sky as well.  


                                                                                     serenedominic

Harumph!  We'll make sure this is taken care of at the next Bilderberg Meeting...


Once the customers and clients of Braxton Bridge found out that their hunt was going to be filmed by animal rights activists, they decided to leave.  For some reason, SHARK thought it would still be a good idea to send up their aircraft while a bunch of pissed off people with guns (and who paid $375 to not get to use them) were still in the area.

The following video shows two angles of what happens next, but here's a brief synopsis:

0:00-1:19  Test flight.  The thing actually works!

1:20-2:00  Take off and flight over Braxton Bridge Plantation

2:01  What's that popping sound?

2:03  Are those gunshots?

2:12  WE'RE HIT CAPTAIN!!!

2:16  Engine wire has been severed!  We're going down!

2:18-2:34  This is ground control to Major Tom!  CAN YOU HEAR ME, MAJOR TOM?!

2:35  Tell my wife I love her...she knows...

2:40  IMPACT

2:47  Same thing, but from the view of the people on the ground.  The video isn't great, but you can hear the gunshots much more clearly at 3:35.

4:20-End  Like a scene out of Deliverance, members of SHARK stalk and taunt the hunters in the woods, yelling things like "C'MON BOY!" and making chicken noises as the gunmen flee or hide.




SHARK is still seeking to find out who shot down their aircraft so that they can press charges.  They have also vowed to take "considerably upscaled action" in 2013 against Braxton Bridge Plantation.

I'm not sure why they need to wait almost an entire year, but if it's to add air to surface weapons onto their next aircraft, SHARK's acronym may be a heck of a lot more intimidating and appropriate.  I'm all for animals being treated humanely, but I'm not sure I can get behind a group sponsored by PETA with that type of technology.

                                                                       thetandd.com
 After Skynet takes over, you'll long for the days that 
it was just pigeons dropping bombs on your head.

Comments

Anonymous said…
In most states it is illegal to harass hunters who are legally hunting. I this would have happened in Indiana the offending persons of SHARK would have been arrested. For example in Indiana: West's Annotated Indiana Code. Title 14. Natural and Cultural Resources. Article 22. Fish and Wildlife. Chapter 37. Harassment of Hunters, Trappers, and Fishermen. Statute Details, Citation: IN ST 14-22-37-1 to 14-22-37-3; Citation: I.C. 14-22-37-1 to 14-22-37-3 Summary: This section reflects Indiana's hunter harassment law. A person who knowingly or intentionally interferes with the legal taking of a game animal by another person with intent to prevent the taking commits a Class C misdemeanor. A person who fails to obey the order of a law enforcement officer to desist from conduct in violation of section 2 of this chapter commits a Class B misdemeanor if the law enforcement officer (1) observed the person or (2) has reasonable grounds to believe that the person has engaged in the conduct that day or intends to engage in the conduct that day on specific premises.
AeroSquid said…
it would be smarter to fly an airplane around them, circling with large high powered cameras. should they fire at your aircraft the FAA and FBI will quickly intervene. Shooting at a real airplane is very serious business. I'm a SHARK supporter but wasting money on a rig like this just to let them target practice on it is unwise.

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