Crow tribal official pleads guilty in bird trafficking case

A Crow tribal official has pleaded guilty in federal court to trafficking in eagles and migratory bird parts.

Kenneth G. Shane, 45, of Crow Agency, a member of the Crow Legislature and Speaker of the House, appeared before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Malloy on July 24. Co-defendant Douglas Vance Crooked Arm, 36, of Pryor, also entered a guilty plea....

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/crow-tribal-official-pleads-guilty-in-bird-trafficking-case/article_7e0755c2-d7d0-584d-b595-16c7de220344.html#ixzz2aivmXp26

California man admits dealing in bird feathers

A former Lame Deer resident now living in California admitted to dealing in migratory bird parts, including eagle and hawk feathers.

Steven Patrick Garcia, 36, of San Jose, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Billings on Wednesday to two counts, including unlawfully offering for sale and selling migratory birds in 2008 and unlawful migratory bird trafficking in 2009.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Smith said Garcia, using a MySpace account, sold a California resident hawk feathers and a golden eagle feather for $225 in 2008. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent interviewed the buyer, who voluntarily gave up the feathers.

During an undercover investigation, an FWS agent communicated with Garcia through MySpace about buying hawk and eagle feathers. Garcia agreed to sell the agent two hawk tails for $250 and suggested they “wait till I get a baldie in before I take any funds … I have one now just haven’t cleaned it up yet … SO I’ll let you know by this weekend so I can clean it and see if it’s worthy of selling,” Smith said.

The agent mailed a money order to Garcia in Lame Deer and received 12 ferruginous hawk and 12 rough-legged hawk tail feathers.

In another transaction in February 2009, Garcia sent the agent golden eagle wing feathers in exchange for $400.

When interviewed, Garcia told agents he knew he could not legally possess feathers because he was not an enrolled member of an Indian tribe and knew it was illegal to sell, kill, buy and trade eagles and other birds.

Garcia faces a maximum of five years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine. Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull set sentencing for April 18 and continued Garcia’s release.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/california-man-admits-dealing-in-bird-feathers/article_20743c20-dcb2-5bce-bdcb-298a8382fc00.html#ixzz2IFLwH1uH

Protected song birds seized

JOHOR BARU - A boat carrying protected song birds worth about RM100,000 (S$39,964.17), was detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in the waters off Teluk Ramunia in Pengerang, Johor on Wednesday.

The vessel was stopped by MMEA enforcement personnel at 11.25am and they found more than 150 protected white-rumped sharma (or commonly called burung murai batu) packed in plastic baskets.

MMEA southern region operation director, Maritime Captain Ibrahim Mohamed said a agency boat on routine patrol had spotted the boat which then sped off.

"We managed to stop the boat after a 10-minute chase at about 1.5 nautical miles south-east from Teluk Ramunia," he said yesterday.

On inspection, the agency's personnel found 16 plastic baskets filled with more than 150 protected song birds.

The white-rumped sharma is a protected bird species and it is an offence to be in possession without proper documentation.

The birds, which are prized as song birds in Malaysia, can fetch up to RM600 per bird depending on their size.

Ibrahim said investigations revealed that the boat from Pasir Gudang and en-route to Penggerang when it was intercepted by the MMEA patrol.

A local man, in his 40s, was detained. The suspect did not have any documents or permits for the birds.
Continued: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/A1Story20120928-374276.html

24 Rare Birds Found In Plane In Kazakhstan

Photo: Wikipedia

Kazakhstan's National Security Committee says that 24 rare falcons have been discovered in Almaty onboard a plane bound for Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates.

The birds had been placed in three bags inside the plane's luggage compartment in an apparent attempt to smuggle them out of the country.

Investigators are working on tracking down the bags' owner.

The saker falcon (Falco cherrug) is a rare species protected by international and Kazakh law.

Saker falcons are used for hunting by the elite in Persian Gulf states. The average price for such a bird on the Central Asian black market ranges between $10,000 and $15,000.

Illegal trafficking of saker falcons from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to Persian Gulf countries was frequent in the 1990s.
http://www.rferl.org/content/rare-birds-found-in-plane-in-kazakhstan/24713481.html

More on the saker falcon (Falco cherrug):
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=3619