Friends of Animals condemns Pennsylvania’s Lamar Township Volunteer Fire Department’s “Predator” Hunt slated for Feb. 13-18 where coyotes, foxes, raccoons and opossums will be recklessly slaughtered for entertainment and cash prizes.

The fire chief and firefighters claim their mission is to “protect lives, property and the environment from dangerous conditions,” however they become the predators of Mill Hall by fronting such a savage annual fundraiser. Not to mention, we are in a biodiversity crisis and all species — especially native carnivores — play a vital role in healthy ecosystems.

Please call the Fire Chief and tell him to cancel the animal shooting contest and hold a decent fundraiser. You can call the firehouse at (570) 726-6581 and send an email to station11@ltvfc.org. You can also call Bryce at (570) 726-3030 as he is referenced for questions on the flyer.

The flyer promoting this ghoulish event, which was posted on the fire department’s Facebook page, got so much public backlash that they had to shut off comments. That’s telling.

It’s no surprise the Miller’s Gun Shop is involved in the event. Guns apparently make small men feel big and powerful. You can email them at info@millersgunshopinc.com to tell them you oppose their support of wildlife killing contests, which 10 states have already banned.

New York is the latest state to make them illegal. Nine other states have prohibited killing contests including California in 2014, Vermont in 2018, Arizona, Massachusetts and New Mexico in 2019, Colorado and Washington in 2020, Maryland in 2021, and Oregon in September 2023.

These states understand that the constant stress on the natural world requires us to re-evaluate so-called “customs” that are undermining healthy ecosystems. Such contests represent Dark Age brutality and have no place in a civilized society. The reality is the number of hunters has declined to a measly four percent of the population nationwide.