Undercover Footage Shows U.S. Senator Participating In The Killing Of Hundreds Of Pigeons

United States Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma is facing criticism from animal welfare supporters for hosting a fundraiser earlier this month which included a live pigeon shoot - a controversial "sport" in which tame birds are released just yards away from shooters before being blasted down in a barrage of shotgun fire.

WARNING: Graphic images below

An investigator from the group Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (SHARK) was able to infiltrate the fundraiser, working undercover to capture disturbing video from the event. One by one, pigeons are seen being tossed into the air, flying frantically amid a hail of bullets. More than a dozen participants were involved in the pigeon shoot, as was Senator Inhofe himself.

"During the shoot, a number of wounded birds landed where we were sitting. One wounded bird who fell nearby was picked up by a man and then thrown back into the air to be shot. Another wounded bird with blood all over the inside of her wing stumbled across the chairs we were sitting on," the unnamed investigator writes.

"A woman next to me, who had never been to anything like this before, asked me to get one bird to safety and I did what I could to get the bird away and under a nearby car, so at least she wouldn't be thrown back into the killing field again."

Live pigeon shoots are considered animal cruelty in most states, but the sport is still permitted in Oklahoma. Captain Tony Woodruff, from the Department of Wildlife Conservation, told the Associated Press that the violent fundraiser was perfectly legal.

"Pigeons are one of the animals that are not really protected by federal law since they're non-migratory," he said. "We're pretty liberal on our laws. We let people do quite a bit here."

Inhofe's campaign spokesman, Rusty Appleton, confirmed to the AP that the senator participated in the shoot, defending the event as a "traditional shooting sport."

SHARK founder Steve Hindi, on the other hand, calls it "wanton slaughter", and he's not alone. John Goodwin of the Humane Society agrees, adding: "We were shocked by the carnage that was shown on the video. We truly believe live pigeon shoots are cruel and unnecessary."

The Dodo's attempts to reach Inhofe for comment were unsuccessful. The Republican senator is currently campaigning for his fourth term.