Five men, four of whom were officers in the US Navy when they were caught after shooting and killing White Ibis, Double-crested Cormorants, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Tree Swallows, Cattle Egrets, and Snowy Egrets in Florida in February of 2009, have pled guilty to related charges. They had each faced up to six months in prison and a $150,000 fine but instead will each have to do 150 hours of community service with a wildlife organization, make a $5,000 donation to a wildlife charity, and take hunter education classes. I think they should have been stripped naked, tied down, covered with glue and birdseed, and left out for a day in a place frequented by cardinals, but I guess that’s why I’m not a judge…
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
…but you so should be (though I might be more tempted by “covered in the entrails of the birds they killed and staked out in Turkey Vulture country…”)
Hunter education classes! Would that be lessons in how not to get caught…?
Er, aren’t these people a tiny bit too trigger-happy to be in the armed forces?
And Corey, once I have gotten myself a Green Card, emigrated to the US, and become US president, I’ll get you into the Supreme Court. We need birders there with a healthy attitude towards punishing environmental crimes. Although Charlie might also be a good candidate.
Yeah, those “hunter education classes” also struck me as odd. In Germany, someone who committed such a crime would very likely have their weapon’s license taken away for life, and would certainly never ever be allowed to shoot an animal – hunter’s license GONE!
@Charlie: I like your punishment better!
@Jochen: Apparently not. And if the crazy right in the U.S. has problems with Obama, saying that he is not born in the United States, is a communist-socialist-fascist, and that he is just like Hitler (as if that makes sense), I can’t imagine what they would try to do with you. Though, you are white, so maybe they wouldn’t have a problem at all?
However, if you manage to overcome these hurdles and get me on the Supreme Court I promise to use my powers mostly for good and only a little for personal enrichment.
How about making them do the grunt work (like putting up predator fences or collecting data in a tern colony) in a variety of bird conservation efforts. Hopefully, they would develop an appreciation for the birds and the stupidity of their actions. Have them hang around birders, so that they understand the value of these birds to us birdnerds. Let’s punich these guys while also improving their karma.
Looks like that the initial sentence would have been more appropriate.
150 hrs community service and $5000? That’s a slap on the wrist.
@Corey: I would first propose to shut down the federal government entirely and hand over power to the regional militias. Once president, I would change my mind and seek a unification of the US with Canada.
Think that’d work?
@ Jochen: But I don’t want to put Gravy and Cheese Curd on my Freedom Fries!
As for punishment, I really liked the Turkey Vulture idea, but that seem inhumane. Therefore I vote for castration!