Live Pigeon Shooting
Live Pigeon Shooting was held only once in Olympic history, in 1900. The object of this event was to shoot and kill as many birds as possible. The official report of the Games described this sport as "très aristocratique" (very aristocratic). This was the first and only time in Olympic history when animals were killed on purpose, though the event is not listed in official IOC medal records, so we list it as a demonstration sport.
Pigeon shooting was held at Cercle du Bois de Boulogne. There were two competitions, Grand Prix du Centenaire (Centenary Grand Prize) and Grand Prix de l'Exposition universelle de 1900 (1900 World Expo Grand Prize).
In the Centenary Grand Prize was held on June 19, with 166 entrants.
The 1900 World Expo Grand Prize was held on the 25, 26 and 27 June, 1900. There were 54 competitors in this main event.
Six birds were released 27 meters in front of the participant. The participant was eliminated once they missed two birds. The winner was the competitor who shot down the most birds from the sky. Nearly 300 birds were killed. The event turned out to be quite messy in the end with dead or injured birds on the ground and blood and feathers all over the place. An award of 20,000 Francs was the prize for the winner, though the top four finishers agreed to split the winnings.
Results
1900 World Expo Grand Prize
- Leon de Lunden (Belgium) 21 birds killed
- Maurice Faure (France) 20 birds killed
- Donald MacIntosh (Australia) 18 birds killed
- Crittenden Robinson [USA] 18 birds killed
Centenary Grand Prize
- Donald MacIntosh (Australia) 22 birds killed
- Pedro Pidal (Marquis de Villaviciosa, Spain) 21 birds killed
- Murphy (USA) 19 birds killed
Related Pages
- Olympic Sports involving animals
- Some discontinued shooting events
- Pigeon racing at the 1900 Olympics
- See the full list of discontinued Olympic Sports
- Current Shooting at the Olympic Games
- Some other unusual animal sports, and some that are also cruel.
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