Simon Paul and Travis John Branson were indicted for allegedly gunning down thousands of birds, including eagles protected by federal law, over the course of several years.

A grand jury indicted two men on charges of going on a yearslong “killing spree” of federally protected eagles and selling “this country’s national symbol” on the black market, court documents revealed.

Simon Paul and Travis John Branson were each charged last week with one count of alleged conspiracy and 13 counts of violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Federal prosecutors said they have messages from Branson stating that he was “committing felonies” and “telling buyers he was ‘on a killing spree’ to obtain eagle tail feathers for future sales.”

Branson would travel from Washington state to the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana to meet up with Paul who’d “help kill, transport and ship bald and golden eagles for future sales on the black market,” according to the indictment.

  • fung@sh.itjust.works
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    11 months ago

    Some people have zero respect for their own lives, and by extension, any living thing. Money insidiously affects all, whether you’re a have or a have not.

    We must try our best to nurture and understand our world instead of “conquering” it.

    • aidan@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Bald Eagles are pests in some of Alaska. They violated the law and so are poachers, but how is this ethically different from working at a slaughterhouse?