2020 has been an incredibly difficult and painful year for many of us. The pandemic hit early, shutting down much of the country. SHARK, however, did not stop. We rose to the challenge, finding new ways to save lives.



We called this campaign, “Operation Shutdown,” and we targeted canned hunting clubs operating in violation of state shut-down orders. Operation Shutdown began when we saw a New Jersey hunt club's advertisement for two "hunting" slaughters during the lockdowns. 

The first was for 1,000 tame ducks, who were to be released and slaughtered, followed by a second shoot where 1,250 ducks and pheasants were to suffer the same fate. We called the hunt club and legally recorded them discussing their plans. Then we presented that evidence to New Jersey Governor Phil Murph y’s office. 

With this success, we understood that we could score even more victories for the animals across our country. We then made it our mission to find as many hunt clubs, canned hunting ranches, pigeon shoots and any other animal killing businesses that were violating stay-at-home orders and get them shutdown. We knew that we had to move fast and be forceful in order to save as many lives as possible. 

We didn’t just trust the local authorities either; we followed up to make sure that they did their jobs. This included using our drones to check properties in Michigan and Illinois and boats on Lake Michigan. 

We also used the orders to shutdown the notorious Philadelphia Gun Club’s pigeon shoots. The Gun Club’s shooting season usually runs from November to April, but this year it ended in early March after we alerted the authorities to the shoots.  We told them how shooters come from numerous different states and how that represented a real health threat in spreading COVID-19.  

• There were no more pigeon shoots after we took action!

Thousands of ducks, pigeons, pheasants and many other animals were saved due to SHARK’s work!

The point is, no one at SHARK stopped working for animals when the world itself seemed to slow and then shut down. We are not like other groups who sit in offices collecting bloated salaries while animals suffer. We do this work because we truly care about animals and we fight hard to save them, no matter what happens.

By creating a unique campaign and taking decisive action, SHARK saved tens of thousands of lives! When people say there’s nothing that can be done in a pandemic, don’t believe them! There’s always a way!