AR-News: (OK) 31 Cockfighters Charged for Killing Protected Animals With Traps

[Political Animal]

Cockfighters often turn into poachers, killing birds
of prey illegally because some of those birds may eat
a gamecock or two.
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US Fish and Wildlife Service News Release

Oklahoma Gamecock Owners Charged for Killing Protected
Birds

Federal agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
today contacted and charged some 31 individuals in
Oklahoma for illegally trapping and killing hawks and
owls in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act a
Federal law that protects more than 800 U.S. bird
species.

The individuals cited, who include residents of
Rogers, Sequoyah, McIntosh, Choctaw, Atoka, Le Flore,
Creek, Pontotoc, Seminole, Coal, Lincoln,
Pottawatomie, Murray, Grady, and Jackson counties, all
raise gamecocks.  They are charged with using pole
traps at their gamecock facilities to catch and kill
hawks and owls thought to be a depredation threat to
their domestic fowl.

Pole traps, which consist of a steel-jawed leg hold
trap mounted on top of a specially installed pole,
take advantage of the natural perching behavior of
birds of prey.  When owls and hawks land on the traps,
the steel jaws catch them by the feet, often seriously
damaging their talons.  The birds are then left to
hang until they die or are removed from the traps and
killed.

Violations documented in the Service investigation
include take of migratory birds as well as illegal
possession of protected birds and their parts.  Under
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the gamecock owners
face a maximum penalty of a $15,000 fine and six
months in prison for each violation.

The Service issues permits on a yearly basis for the
live trapping and release of depredating owls and
hawks.  Service records show that three of the
individuals charged held permits in the past, but all
had expired by 1993.  Permits only allow the use of
padded, non-lethal traps.

"The individuals we investigated represent only a
small percentage of the fighting gamecock owners in
Oklahoma," said Service Special Agent Jerry Monroe,
who works out of Edmond.  But those who persist in
illegally trapping hawks and owls are responsible for
killing untold numbers of birds."

The Service completed a similar investigation in
Oklahoma and Texas in 1989, bringing charges against
175 individuals for killing owls and hawks. Species
vulnerable to this threat include great horned owls,
barred owls, barn owls, red-tailed hawks, and
red-shouldered hawks.

"Our investigation in Oklahoma reveals a callous
disregard of the law and the birds it protects," said
Special Agent in Charge Richard McDonald, who oversees
Service law enforcement efforts in the Southwest. 
"Legal ways exist to address depredation.  Those who
resort to pole trapping are destroying wild birds that
are part of our natural heritage."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal
Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting
and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their
habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses
nearly 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of
small wetlands and other special management areas. It
also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery
resource offices and 78 ecological services field
stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws,
administers the Endangered Species Act, manages
migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife
habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign
governments with their conservation efforts. It also
oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on
fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and
wildlife agencies.



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