PITTSBURGH -- Pennsylvania’s tradition of live pigeon shooting is the center of controversy involving several national groups.

Animal rights groups want the state to ban the live pigeon shoots.

Heidi Prescott of the Humane Society said,” Live animals are launched in front of shooters who are standing 30 yards away. The bulk of animals are wounded, not killed outright. This is all done for competition. For prizes and belt buckles"

The Humane Society said pigeon shooting events in most regions of the country are banned, but they remain popular and are openly promoted in one state: Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania state legislators are now considering legislation to ban the sport.

Allegheny County Rep. John Maher is one of the lead sponsors of the ban.

The animal rights groups are lobbying intensely for it and the National Rifle Association has deployed full-time lobbyists to Harrisburg to urge state legislators to block the ban.

The NRA has told its members that pigeon shoots have a rich, deep history in Pennsylvania and that it was once part of the Olympic Games.

The gun group also said no court has ever found pigeon shoots to be inhumane and that animal rights groups are using this issue as an effort to stop all hunting of all species.