...if you are "creeped out" by a cute little Limpkin!
To read about how one idiot condo resident is trying to get rid of the Limpkins in the condo pond, click here: http://sicluceatlux.wordpress.com/
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
Golfer Kills Hawk
If people aren't talking about this story already, they will be soon, so here it is:
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=ap-golfer-birdkilled&prov=ap&type=lgns
http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/news?slug=ap-golfer-birdkilled&prov=ap&type=lgns
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
We're Back--In A Blaze of Glory!
Well, we're finally back. Well, not actually, since we are not *technically* in Chicago right now, but in the comparatively snow-less State of Minnesota. At least we are back from Japan and our subsequent trip to Texico. (Not entirely sure if we were in Texas or Mexico so...)
When we walked off of the plane from Tokyo we were handed a large package with a return address in Louisiana marked "Top Secret Irrefutable IBWO Evidence." We'll try to open that up in a few days and report on its contents.
In the meantime, we created a bit of a stir on the YouTube with a video we took at the Bon Jovi show last night in Chicago of JBJ and Chris Daughtry singing Blaze of Glory. It's the first (and only?) video we've ever taken that's received "honors" on YouTube, and the play counter stuck at about 1400 after it had only been up for a couple of hours.
Here it is, and check out our other new videos as well:
When we walked off of the plane from Tokyo we were handed a large package with a return address in Louisiana marked "Top Secret Irrefutable IBWO Evidence." We'll try to open that up in a few days and report on its contents.
In the meantime, we created a bit of a stir on the YouTube with a video we took at the Bon Jovi show last night in Chicago of JBJ and Chris Daughtry singing Blaze of Glory. It's the first (and only?) video we've ever taken that's received "honors" on YouTube, and the play counter stuck at about 1400 after it had only been up for a couple of hours.
Here it is, and check out our other new videos as well:
Monday, February 11, 2008
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Halfway There!!!
Halfway through our Japan trip, so far crippling views of Blakiston's Fish Owl, Stellar's Sea Eagle, Okinawa Rail, Ural Owl, etc etc.
More when we get back. Until then, enjoy.
More when we get back. Until then, enjoy.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Yes, Virginia, There *WAS* A Snowy Owl, But The USDA Killed It!!!
Turns out we were misreading the USDA "Kill List" a bit, the most recent numbers available are from 2006, not just 2005.
One thing that stood out to us was the Snowy Owl killed in Virginia in 2005. We thought that might have been the famous Dulles Snowy (supposedly a first Virginia state record), but we Googled a bit and that bird was in 2006. But when we looked at the 2006 Kill List, there is again a Snowy Owl listed as having been killed in Virginia. About the only reason (we're not saying it is a good reason) you could give for killing a Snowy Owl would be to prevent an aircraft strike. So this brings up two pertinent questions:
1) How many Snowy Owls are in Virginia annually? If the Kill List is correct, the Dulled bird was not the first record in the Commonwealth (we know there are some old records but the 2006 bird was said (ibcorrectly?) by many to have been a state-first); and here's the $64,000 question:
2) Did the USDA kill the famous 2006 Dulles Snowy Owl???
It should be pretty easy to answer the second question. Virginia birders/bloggers, just go to the USDA Wildlife Services web site, find the FOIA contact info (it's on there, even though the buttons didn't work for us, you may have to mail your request in) and request any and all information, documents, correspondence, etc. relating to the killing of a Snowy Owl in Virginia in 2006. (Throw in 2005 and 2007 for good measure.) That is a pretty specific request that should easy to respond to.
And let us know the response, or of they give you any problems with your request.
If that works, we will be recommending that all of our readers look at the Kill List and send an FOIA request regarding birds that were killed in their own states.
One thing that stood out to us was the Snowy Owl killed in Virginia in 2005. We thought that might have been the famous Dulles Snowy (supposedly a first Virginia state record), but we Googled a bit and that bird was in 2006. But when we looked at the 2006 Kill List, there is again a Snowy Owl listed as having been killed in Virginia. About the only reason (we're not saying it is a good reason) you could give for killing a Snowy Owl would be to prevent an aircraft strike. So this brings up two pertinent questions:
1) How many Snowy Owls are in Virginia annually? If the Kill List is correct, the Dulled bird was not the first record in the Commonwealth (we know there are some old records but the 2006 bird was said (ibcorrectly?) by many to have been a state-first); and here's the $64,000 question:
2) Did the USDA kill the famous 2006 Dulles Snowy Owl???
It should be pretty easy to answer the second question. Virginia birders/bloggers, just go to the USDA Wildlife Services web site, find the FOIA contact info (it's on there, even though the buttons didn't work for us, you may have to mail your request in) and request any and all information, documents, correspondence, etc. relating to the killing of a Snowy Owl in Virginia in 2006. (Throw in 2005 and 2007 for good measure.) That is a pretty specific request that should easy to respond to.
And let us know the response, or of they give you any problems with your request.
If that works, we will be recommending that all of our readers look at the Kill List and send an FOIA request regarding birds that were killed in their own states.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Kill List 2005
OK, here is a *real* conservation alert.
We have talked (again and again) about how the City of Chicago is using its henchmen at the USDA to exterminate the various gull colonies in the Chicago area. As part of that Gull Extermination Program, the bastards...er, scientists...at the USDA's Division of Wildlife Killing have tagged a bunch of gulls. They have asked for birders to report the locations of those tagged gulls, and birders, being good-hearted but sadly gullible, have been dutifully reporting those gulls as they move south for the winter. Here is a good example of how birders and wildlife lovers are trying to do the right thing, without realizing that the info they are submitting will probably be used to kill birds. These well-meaning birders don't know the real story, so...we're going to tell them!!!
What role does the entity which tagged these gulls -- technically the Wildlife Services division of the USDA, but we'll call it by a more accurrate title, the Wildlife Killing Division -- in conserving or protecting birds?
NONE!!!
Their one and only purpose is to scare away and literally kill birds (and other wildlife) that they consider to be a nuisance. Oh, they use lots of euphamisms like "property damage control," "protecting property," and (amazingly) "protecting wildlife," but basically what they do is help people kill stuff.
Now, in some contexts, like killing exotics in Hawaii, Wildlife Services might actually be helping wildlife. And you can certainly make an argument that, under very limited circumstances, scaring away or even killing birds might be necessary to save lives, for example, at an airfield where bird strikes are a real problem.
But the devil is in the details, and we ran across this blog post today that "details the details" that were revealed when the USDA was forced to publish its "Kill List" for past years, up to and including 2005.
So, exactly *what* did Wildlife Services, the entity responsible for this gull "survey," do in 2005?
They killed more than 1.5 million birds.
Yes, you read it right, they killed 1,500,000 birds in the last year for which data is available.
How many birders know that this is even happening? Now, while many of those 1.5 million birds are blackbirds and starlings, a lot of them are not. Again, the devil is in the details. Take a look at that link, and you'll see that in the year 2005, the USDA's Wildlife Killing Division killed a lot of gulls. More than 16,000 gulls, including:
1,807 Herring Gulls
3,267 Ring-billed Gulls
6,272 Laughing Gulls
and
3,221 dangerous Glaucous-winged Gulls.
Those totals include 635 Ring-billed Gulls and 45 Herring Gulls that were killed right here in Illinois.
What else did the USDA kill in 2005?
Cunning and dangerous birds such as:
American Avocet
Brewer's Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow Bittern
Black-necked Stilt
Long-Billed Curlew
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Snowy Egret
Northern Flicker
Pied-billed Grebe
Ruffed Grouse
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Harrier
Swainson's Hawk
Black-crowned Ngiht-heron
Stellar's Jay
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Western Kingbird
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Northern Mockingbird
Nighthawk (apparently they couldn't even be bothered to identify what they killed)
Osprey
Short-eared Owl
Snowy Owl
Barn Owl (397!, most in Hawaii)
Brown Pelican
Semi-p Plover
Common Snipe
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-Green Swallow
Black Tern
Whimbrel
Gila Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Greater Yellowlegs
You can check the USDA site and see the same type of info for prior years.
We have to ask: exactly what could cause you to kill an American Avocet? Or a Western Kingbird?
And exactly where (and why) did they kill a Snowy Owl in Virginia in 2005?
More to come...
We have talked (again and again) about how the City of Chicago is using its henchmen at the USDA to exterminate the various gull colonies in the Chicago area. As part of that Gull Extermination Program, the bastards...er, scientists...at the USDA's Division of Wildlife Killing have tagged a bunch of gulls. They have asked for birders to report the locations of those tagged gulls, and birders, being good-hearted but sadly gullible, have been dutifully reporting those gulls as they move south for the winter. Here is a good example of how birders and wildlife lovers are trying to do the right thing, without realizing that the info they are submitting will probably be used to kill birds. These well-meaning birders don't know the real story, so...we're going to tell them!!!
What role does the entity which tagged these gulls -- technically the Wildlife Services division of the USDA, but we'll call it by a more accurrate title, the Wildlife Killing Division -- in conserving or protecting birds?
NONE!!!
Their one and only purpose is to scare away and literally kill birds (and other wildlife) that they consider to be a nuisance. Oh, they use lots of euphamisms like "property damage control," "protecting property," and (amazingly) "protecting wildlife," but basically what they do is help people kill stuff.
Now, in some contexts, like killing exotics in Hawaii, Wildlife Services might actually be helping wildlife. And you can certainly make an argument that, under very limited circumstances, scaring away or even killing birds might be necessary to save lives, for example, at an airfield where bird strikes are a real problem.
But the devil is in the details, and we ran across this blog post today that "details the details" that were revealed when the USDA was forced to publish its "Kill List" for past years, up to and including 2005.
So, exactly *what* did Wildlife Services, the entity responsible for this gull "survey," do in 2005?
They killed more than 1.5 million birds.
Yes, you read it right, they killed 1,500,000 birds in the last year for which data is available.
How many birders know that this is even happening? Now, while many of those 1.5 million birds are blackbirds and starlings, a lot of them are not. Again, the devil is in the details. Take a look at that link, and you'll see that in the year 2005, the USDA's Wildlife Killing Division killed a lot of gulls. More than 16,000 gulls, including:
1,807 Herring Gulls
3,267 Ring-billed Gulls
6,272 Laughing Gulls
and
3,221 dangerous Glaucous-winged Gulls.
Those totals include 635 Ring-billed Gulls and 45 Herring Gulls that were killed right here in Illinois.
What else did the USDA kill in 2005?
Cunning and dangerous birds such as:
American Avocet
Brewer's Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow Bittern
Black-necked Stilt
Long-Billed Curlew
Barrow's Goldeneye
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Snowy Egret
Northern Flicker
Pied-billed Grebe
Ruffed Grouse
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Harrier
Swainson's Hawk
Black-crowned Ngiht-heron
Stellar's Jay
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Western Kingbird
Horned Lark
Purple Martin
Northern Mockingbird
Nighthawk (apparently they couldn't even be bothered to identify what they killed)
Osprey
Short-eared Owl
Snowy Owl
Barn Owl (397!, most in Hawaii)
Brown Pelican
Semi-p Plover
Common Snipe
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Tree Swallow
Violet-Green Swallow
Black Tern
Whimbrel
Gila Woodpecker
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Greater Yellowlegs
You can check the USDA site and see the same type of info for prior years.
We have to ask: exactly what could cause you to kill an American Avocet? Or a Western Kingbird?
And exactly where (and why) did they kill a Snowy Owl in Virginia in 2005?
More to come...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
URGENT---BINAC CONSERVATION ACTION ALERT!!!
Dear Friends;
We have had quite a few complaints lately about the site not being updated. Actually, they haven't really been complaints, more like statements: "The site hasn't been updated lately." Or even compliments: "The site hasn't been updated lately. (Thank God!)"
So, while we have been away losing all of our money in the Czech Republic and Manchester on our question to master the Japanese language, we decided that we needed to come back with a bang. Something big. Something important. Something serious and conservation-minded. We've seen other birding web sites do "action alerts" for critical conservation issues, and that's what we have here for you today. Please feel free to distribute this ACTION ALERT to any other birders, birding web site, homeless people, or prostitutes you see in the next 72 hours:
BINAC ACTION ALERT!!!
HELP SAVE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED AND HARASSED LONG-EARED OWLS!!!!
Recently, a group (flock? covey?) of rare Long-eared Owls has been "discovered" in a park on Chicago's near South Side, in an area known as the South Loop.
However, inconsiderate birders, dog-walkers, mailmen, and sanitation workers have been harassing these poor birds. Today, while standing vigil over the owls, we witnessed a serious altercation between a birder and a photographer over where they could stand on the sidewalk. This incident culminated in the the birder running the photographer over with his car, and a group of schoolchildren dragging the birder out of his car and stabbing him to death. This will probably be on all of the national news networks tonight. Anyway, this sort of thing has to stop, and we have the perfect solution:
We hereby call on the Wisconsin Humane Society to capture these poor, defenseless, homeless owls and deposit them at the nearby Brookfield Zoo where they will lead a comfortable life in the Green-breasted Mango exhibit. We also propose that Jim Stevenson be placed into this same exhibit, for his own safety from the cat-loving crowd.
The time to act is NOW!!!
Please contact Stuart Strahl at the Brookfield Zoo and Migrant Bird Sanctuary/Petting Zoo with this important BINAC CONSERVATION ACTION ALERT!!!
(For further information, please contact the City of Chicago's Long-eared Owl Protection Unit at
312-744-7606.)
We have had quite a few complaints lately about the site not being updated. Actually, they haven't really been complaints, more like statements: "The site hasn't been updated lately." Or even compliments: "The site hasn't been updated lately. (Thank God!)"
So, while we have been away losing all of our money in the Czech Republic and Manchester on our question to master the Japanese language, we decided that we needed to come back with a bang. Something big. Something important. Something serious and conservation-minded. We've seen other birding web sites do "action alerts" for critical conservation issues, and that's what we have here for you today. Please feel free to distribute this ACTION ALERT to any other birders, birding web site, homeless people, or prostitutes you see in the next 72 hours:
BINAC ACTION ALERT!!!
HELP SAVE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED AND HARASSED LONG-EARED OWLS!!!!
Recently, a group (flock? covey?) of rare Long-eared Owls has been "discovered" in a park on Chicago's near South Side, in an area known as the South Loop.
However, inconsiderate birders, dog-walkers, mailmen, and sanitation workers have been harassing these poor birds. Today, while standing vigil over the owls, we witnessed a serious altercation between a birder and a photographer over where they could stand on the sidewalk. This incident culminated in the the birder running the photographer over with his car, and a group of schoolchildren dragging the birder out of his car and stabbing him to death. This will probably be on all of the national news networks tonight. Anyway, this sort of thing has to stop, and we have the perfect solution:
We hereby call on the Wisconsin Humane Society to capture these poor, defenseless, homeless owls and deposit them at the nearby Brookfield Zoo where they will lead a comfortable life in the Green-breasted Mango exhibit. We also propose that Jim Stevenson be placed into this same exhibit, for his own safety from the cat-loving crowd.
The time to act is NOW!!!
Please contact Stuart Strahl at the Brookfield Zoo and Migrant Bird Sanctuary/Petting Zoo with this important BINAC CONSERVATION ACTION ALERT!!!
(For further information, please contact the City of Chicago's Long-eared Owl Protection Unit at
312-744-7606.)
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Happy New Year--now get into your cage!!!
According to a post on IBET, our old pal, the illegally captured and transported Green-breasted Mango, was just released into one of the Brookfield Zoo's aviaries. See photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14630574@N08/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14630574@N08/
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Merry Christmas from BINAC!!!
We're sweating it out in the hot summer sun, while most of our readers are freezing their arses off!
Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
And we know what we want for Christmas:
Umm, we want the chick, not Dee Snider!
Hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
And we know what we want for Christmas:
Umm, we want the chick, not Dee Snider!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
The Missing Link!!!
Now we remember why we hate the Wisconsin Humane Society so much. They support free-roaming feral cat colonies!
Why?
And, in a massive stroke of luck, we have finally been able to link the WHS/Mango debacle with the Jim Stevenson trial:
Don't shoot my pussy!!!
At some point, we envision holding a fundraiser to buy Jim Stevenson a plane ticket to Milwaukee, but that is only a long-range plan.
Since Jim Stevenson has also seen an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, this story is now the Holy Trinity of bird blogging!!!
Why?
And, in a massive stroke of luck, we have finally been able to link the WHS/Mango debacle with the Jim Stevenson trial:
Don't shoot my pussy!!!
At some point, we envision holding a fundraiser to buy Jim Stevenson a plane ticket to Milwaukee, but that is only a long-range plan.
Since Jim Stevenson has also seen an Ivory-billed Woodpecker, this story is now the Holy Trinity of bird blogging!!!
What the *FUCK* is the Wisconsin Humane Society doing???
OK, now that Jim Stevenson has been freed (through no help from us, we sort of abandoned him, but we'll take credit anyway), the Mango is next on our list.
We were checking out some updated versions of stories on the Mango's birdnapping and found some bizarre quotes from our Moron of the Week, Scott Diehl:
"The Wisconsin Humane Society has rehabilitated baby mockingbirds from Texas and infant ground doves from Florida that ultimately were returned to their home states..."
Where, exactly, did the WHS get an "infant ground dove" from? And baby mockingbirds from "Texas"? What kind of mockingbird would have to be released in Texas? You certainly wouldn't have to release a Northern Mocker that far south. (And please don't fucking tell us Blue Mockingbird, because if the WHS is releasing Blue Mockingbirds in Texas, they have got a lot of 'splaining to do.)
According to some comments floating out there at various places on the 'net (including Sheri Williamson's blog), the WHS has also in the past captured Rufous Hummingbirds.
What the fuck are they doing up there in Wisconsin? Seriously, has the WHS really been capturing multiple vagrants over the past few years? Under what permit were they capturing Rufous Hummingbirds? Because those are clearly protected by the MBTA, right?
Still no response from the Wisconsin DNR.
And no response from the gutless wonders at the Wisconsin Humane Society. They seem to have "lawyered up."
We were checking out some updated versions of stories on the Mango's birdnapping and found some bizarre quotes from our Moron of the Week, Scott Diehl:
"The Wisconsin Humane Society has rehabilitated baby mockingbirds from Texas and infant ground doves from Florida that ultimately were returned to their home states..."
Where, exactly, did the WHS get an "infant ground dove" from? And baby mockingbirds from "Texas"? What kind of mockingbird would have to be released in Texas? You certainly wouldn't have to release a Northern Mocker that far south. (And please don't fucking tell us Blue Mockingbird, because if the WHS is releasing Blue Mockingbirds in Texas, they have got a lot of 'splaining to do.)
According to some comments floating out there at various places on the 'net (including Sheri Williamson's blog), the WHS has also in the past captured Rufous Hummingbirds.
What the fuck are they doing up there in Wisconsin? Seriously, has the WHS really been capturing multiple vagrants over the past few years? Under what permit were they capturing Rufous Hummingbirds? Because those are clearly protected by the MBTA, right?
Still no response from the Wisconsin DNR.
And no response from the gutless wonders at the Wisconsin Humane Society. They seem to have "lawyered up."
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Speaking of being held in captivity...
...apparently Jim Stevenson is on trial right now in Galveston. He might get two years for doing something that isn't even illegal!!!
But, honestly, we're going to see a Jacana tomorrow, so we don't really care!
But, honestly, we're going to see a Jacana tomorrow, so we don't really care!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Letter to the Wisconsin DNR regarding the Green-breasted Mango
Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:55:15 -0800 (PST)
From: birdingisnotacrime@yahoo.com
Subject: Tip on wild bird capture
To: LE.Hotline@dnr.state.wi.us
CC: lawreception@illinois.gov
Dear Wisconsin DNR:
We wish to make an anonymous tip regarding an illegal capture of a migratory wild bird.
Sometime on or before November 7, 2007, representatives of the Wisconsin Humane Society illegally captured a healthy and wild bird, specifically a Green-breasted Mango that had been safely living near Beloit for at least several weeks.
We submit that this capture was performed without the proper federal permit, in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Regardless of the position taken by the Humane Society, Green-breasted Mango fits all of the statutory requirements for protection by the MBTA, and is therefore protected by federal law.
We also submit that the capture violated Wisconsin state law. We assume that you are well-versed in Wisconsin law regarding wildlife rehabbers. For your convenience, we have included the relevant statutory section below. In brief, Wisconsin law specifically provides that a "wildlife rehabilitation license does not authorize the capture, receipt, possession, traansportation, or transfer of wildlife for any purpose other than wildlife rehabilitation." Since this bird was, as the Humane Society has admitted, completely healthy, was never rehabilitated, and was in fact recently used in conjunction with a prearranged "media opportunity," its capture was "for [a] purpose other than wildlife rehabilitation," and the Society's capture, possession, transportation, and transfer of the bird was in violation of Wisconsin law.
The bird has now been transported across states lines to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. We also ask that you consult with the Illinois DNR to inform them of this situation.
We trust that you will take your duty to investigate crimes involving wildlife seriously and will investigate this matter promptly. The illegal capture of the Green-breasted Mango should be treated no differently than the taking or poaching of any other wild animal that is prohibited by law. To allow the Society to evade legal liability based on their argument that it was "helping" the bird by capturing it was set a terrible precedent, and could be used by any poacher to justify their actions as being in the "best interests" of wildlife. The DNR has a duty to enforce the law uniformly, and to treat this unlawful capture in the same manner it would treat any other illegal capture of a wild animal.
We are also copying the Illinois DNR to inform them of this potential violation of Wisconsin law, and to inform them that the subject bird has now been transported into Illinois.
The text of the relevant Wisconsin law is as follows:
NR 19.72 General wildlife rehabilitation provisions.1) The title to all wildlife and their offspring heldunder a wildlife rehabilitation license remains under the jurisdiction of the department as described in s. 169.02, Stats., and may not be sold, traded or bartered without the consent of the department.2) The department may restrict wildlife rehabilitation of specific wildlife species, either statewide or in certain geographic areas to control the spread of disease, to protect public health or to prevent harmful environmental impacts.(3) The department may restrict wildlife species authorized for rehabilitation based on the facilities and qualifications of the applicant or licensee.(4) A wildlife rehabilitation license does not authorize the capture, receipt, possession, transportation or transfer of wildlife for any purpose other than wildlife rehabilitation.
From: birdingisnotacrime@yahoo.com
Subject: Tip on wild bird capture
To: LE.Hotline@dnr.state.wi.us
CC: lawreception@illinois.gov
Dear Wisconsin DNR:
We wish to make an anonymous tip regarding an illegal capture of a migratory wild bird.
Sometime on or before November 7, 2007, representatives of the Wisconsin Humane Society illegally captured a healthy and wild bird, specifically a Green-breasted Mango that had been safely living near Beloit for at least several weeks.
We submit that this capture was performed without the proper federal permit, in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Regardless of the position taken by the Humane Society, Green-breasted Mango fits all of the statutory requirements for protection by the MBTA, and is therefore protected by federal law.
We also submit that the capture violated Wisconsin state law. We assume that you are well-versed in Wisconsin law regarding wildlife rehabbers. For your convenience, we have included the relevant statutory section below. In brief, Wisconsin law specifically provides that a "wildlife rehabilitation license does not authorize the capture, receipt, possession, traansportation, or transfer of wildlife for any purpose other than wildlife rehabilitation." Since this bird was, as the Humane Society has admitted, completely healthy, was never rehabilitated, and was in fact recently used in conjunction with a prearranged "media opportunity," its capture was "for [a] purpose other than wildlife rehabilitation," and the Society's capture, possession, transportation, and transfer of the bird was in violation of Wisconsin law.
The bird has now been transported across states lines to the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois. We also ask that you consult with the Illinois DNR to inform them of this situation.
We trust that you will take your duty to investigate crimes involving wildlife seriously and will investigate this matter promptly. The illegal capture of the Green-breasted Mango should be treated no differently than the taking or poaching of any other wild animal that is prohibited by law. To allow the Society to evade legal liability based on their argument that it was "helping" the bird by capturing it was set a terrible precedent, and could be used by any poacher to justify their actions as being in the "best interests" of wildlife. The DNR has a duty to enforce the law uniformly, and to treat this unlawful capture in the same manner it would treat any other illegal capture of a wild animal.
We are also copying the Illinois DNR to inform them of this potential violation of Wisconsin law, and to inform them that the subject bird has now been transported into Illinois.
The text of the relevant Wisconsin law is as follows:
NR 19.72 General wildlife rehabilitation provisions.1) The title to all wildlife and their offspring heldunder a wildlife rehabilitation license remains under the jurisdiction of the department as described in s. 169.02, Stats., and may not be sold, traded or bartered without the consent of the department.2) The department may restrict wildlife rehabilitation of specific wildlife species, either statewide or in certain geographic areas to control the spread of disease, to protect public health or to prevent harmful environmental impacts.(3) The department may restrict wildlife species authorized for rehabilitation based on the facilities and qualifications of the applicant or licensee.(4) A wildlife rehabilitation license does not authorize the capture, receipt, possession, transportation or transfer of wildlife for any purpose other than wildlife rehabilitation.
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