‘Shoot Clay Pigeons,’ Animal Lovers Tell Bush

WASHINGTON —  An animal protection group criticized President-elect George Bush Tuesday for spending the holidays hunting, saying the way to create a kinder, gentler nation would be to “shoot clay pigeons, not live quail.”

The Fund for Animals urged Bush to stop hunting quail and sent him a telegram reminding him that the birds, like other animals, feel pain and want to live.

The group sent the telegram in response to comments Bush made Monday in Beeville, Tex., where he is quail hunting with Houston millionaire and financier Will Farish.

When asked about his three-day hunting trip, Bush said: “These aren’t animals. These are wild quail. You’ve got to eat.” He added: “I don’t think I could shoot a deer . . . . Quail, that’s something else again . . . tremendously exciting.”

Cleveland Amory, president of the Fund for Animals, said he was disappointed by Bush’s actions because he thought the President-elect should be setting an example for the rest of the nation and following through on his campaign pledge to seek a “kinder, gentler nation.”

“A decisive step toward a kinder, gentler nation would be to shoot clay pigeons, not live quail,” Amory said in a statement. “By abandoning quail hunting, the President-elect can send a clear message to child and adult alike that one need not kill wild animals to appreciate them.”

During the first two days of his hunting trip, Bush killed “some quail,” but spokesman Steve Hart refused to say how many.

According to the Fund for Animals, a nationwide group with 250,000 members, more than 20 million quail were killed last year and millions more were wounded.