Birders Help Nail Pelican Poacher
Here's the story from the Tyler Paper:
Audubon Society members bird watching around Lake Palestine Saturday afternoon were shocked when the white pelican they were observing was shot from the sky.
The birdwatchers were parked on County Road 1134 viewing water foul fly back and forth from a private lake to Lake Palestine when they heard a gunshot.
"A pelican they were watching folded and fell to the ground," said Chris Green, game warden for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "They're beautiful to see swimming together. They have a large bucket-type mouth and it's neat to see them fishing. That's why they are protected."
The birdwatchers called Operation Game Thief, a toll-free number where the public can report hunting, fishing and other environmental violations.
Green said he was dispatched to the area and located the shooter and his friends along with the bird that was hidden in a makeshift dumpsite on the property.
When interviewed, the 17-year-old Robert E. Lee student told Green he shot the bird because it was eating too many fish out of his private lake.
"I seized his shotgun and wrote him a ticket for killing a protected bird," Green said.
In he state of Texas there are three classifications for protection. The first is endangered, which includes species such as the whooping crane and brown pelican. The second is threatened, and includes the bald eagle, and the third class is protected which includes owls, hawks, pelicans and songbirds.
"They are numerous, but we still protect them from random shooting, and violators face a pretty steep fine," he said. "(The teen) will be looking at around a $500 fine."
In addition to the fine for killing a protected bird, he was ticketed for not having a hunting license or hunter education.
Green said even though the bird was shot on private property it is still against the law to harm or kill protected wildlife. He added that if it wasn't for the Audubon ladies looking through their binoculars, he probably would not have known about the shooting.
"The women were very disappointed. They came to East Texas to see the beauty of our wildlife and all we can show them are killers," Green said.
Serisously? People still name their kids "Robert E. Lee"?
Audubon Society members bird watching around Lake Palestine Saturday afternoon were shocked when the white pelican they were observing was shot from the sky.
The birdwatchers were parked on County Road 1134 viewing water foul fly back and forth from a private lake to Lake Palestine when they heard a gunshot.
"A pelican they were watching folded and fell to the ground," said Chris Green, game warden for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. "They're beautiful to see swimming together. They have a large bucket-type mouth and it's neat to see them fishing. That's why they are protected."
The birdwatchers called Operation Game Thief, a toll-free number where the public can report hunting, fishing and other environmental violations.
Green said he was dispatched to the area and located the shooter and his friends along with the bird that was hidden in a makeshift dumpsite on the property.
When interviewed, the 17-year-old Robert E. Lee student told Green he shot the bird because it was eating too many fish out of his private lake.
"I seized his shotgun and wrote him a ticket for killing a protected bird," Green said.
In he state of Texas there are three classifications for protection. The first is endangered, which includes species such as the whooping crane and brown pelican. The second is threatened, and includes the bald eagle, and the third class is protected which includes owls, hawks, pelicans and songbirds.
"They are numerous, but we still protect them from random shooting, and violators face a pretty steep fine," he said. "(The teen) will be looking at around a $500 fine."
In addition to the fine for killing a protected bird, he was ticketed for not having a hunting license or hunter education.
Green said even though the bird was shot on private property it is still against the law to harm or kill protected wildlife. He added that if it wasn't for the Audubon ladies looking through their binoculars, he probably would not have known about the shooting.
"The women were very disappointed. They came to East Texas to see the beauty of our wildlife and all we can show them are killers," Green said.
Serisously? People still name their kids "Robert E. Lee"?
posted by birdchick at 6:37 AM
15 Comments:
That is so sad, really - people have no respect for wildlife. I'm glad they were able to find him and do something about it.
(BTW, he's a student of Robert E. Lee school. ;) )
It must have been heartbreaking for those ladies to see that, but I'm glad they did and called the authorities.
I believe that Robert E. Lee is the school the kid goes to not his name...
Like the other said, it is the school. Almost worse! They can't legally give the name of a minor involved in a crime.
I'm glad those ladies were watching and the boy got a taste of the law! Poor pelican, though.
Robert E. Lee is a high school in Baytown, TX, just east of Houston. My wife grew up in the same school district.
Oooooh $500 fine. That's what qualifies as a "stiff fine" in Texas? A here I thought everything was bigger in Texas.
There are schools in Tyler, Baytown, and San Antonio, Texas, named for the well known Civil War general.
I haven't seen many American White Pelicans in a while, but just thinking about them reminds me of a Autumn morning when I saw a flock of twenty following the Cimmaron River in Oklahoma. They flew overhead, not 30 feet above me, as quite as could be, except for the whoosh of their feathers.
Kevin (Alamo City native, now transplanted in Happy Valley, PA)
$500 is not steep enough! Grrr that makes me mad.
But yay for the birders for taking action.
I went to Robert E. Lee Elementary School in Raymondville TX.
At least you were able to see in Harlingen that some Texans really get it and support the birds as much as they can!
Saw this and thought you needed to see it as well:
http://birdandmoon.com/birdandmoon/threat.html
And the writer can't spell fowl? Doesn't say much for the area.
Only $500???? I'd at least add a 1 to that number (and not the back end of it either) and if he wasn't a minor, maybe some jail time.... then highly publicize it. Maybe then we can get at least some of those stupid people to think before pulling the trigger.
There are a lot of schools in the South called "Robert E. Lee".
"They're beautiful to see swimming together. They have a large bucket-type mouth and it's neat to see them fishing. That's why they are protected."
I love pelicans and agree that pelicans are fantastic birds and that it is very cool to watch their behavior, but I wouldn't say migratory birds are protected because they are "beautiful" and "neat". The migratory bird laws were created to keep migratory bird populations healthy, balance in ecosystems, species from going extinct, etc.
The penalties for harming/killing animals in this country are absolutely pathetic, and the reasons people do it are even more deplorable. I just don't think people will ever learn unless the consequences get a lot more serious.
klia
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