Steve Hindi, Founder of SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK)

Steve Hindi–founder of SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), a national animal welfare organization concerned with halting and/or educating the public about pigeon shoots, rodeos, bullfighting, canned hunts, and more–discusses his history as an avid and accomplished fisherman, whose world, and life, changed forever after witnessing two pigeon shoots. He recounts how this sort of treatment-of-animals epiphany was decidedly not shared by his close friends and fishing buddies. Nonetheless, he remembers, he forged ahead, launching SHARK. He also describes what a pigeon shoot is and how it works, and criticizes politicians and legislators in Pennsylvania and elsewhere who, Hindi says, are disinterested in proposing stronger laws regulating pigeon shoots, or enforcing current ones. He also touches on rodeos and canned hunts and guided hunts. On multiple occasions in the interview, Hindi also attacks the leadership of the National Rifle Association (NRA), calling top officials there “domestic terrorists.” He also places those criticisms of NRA leadership and discussion of these hunting activities addressed by SHARK (and in this interview) in the context of the Newtown school mass killing tragedy, which had occurred less than a week before this “Talking Animals” interview. (www.sharkonline.org, www.facebook.com/sharkonlineorg)

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COMEDY CORNER: Tom Shillue’s “Animal Shows” (www.tomshillue.com)

MUSIC: Clyde McPhatter’s’ “Deep Sea Ball,” Ultraista’s “Bad Insect,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Chipmunks’ “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer”