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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums'Like nothing we have ever seen': NorCal man accused of killing more than 100 hawks
A man in Lassen County was arrested Sunday after his 80-acre property was allegedly found littered with the carcasses of more than 100 dead hawks and other birds in what the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is calling the largest raptor-poaching bust in state history.
"It's like nothing we have ever seen," said Capt. Patrick Foy of CDFW's law enforcement division. "I've been doing this for 21 years and some of us have been around in excess of three decades. We all kind of looked at each other and said we've known of nothing close to this many raptors involved in a poaching case."
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"When you think about what raptors eat, it's rodents, voles, mice, rats and squirrels. Those populations are very likely going to increase," said Foy. "More people want to see more raptors and less rats but ultimately, that's going to be reversed."
"There's no question about it, it's going to be a concern for the immediate vicinity," he said. "Taking 130 raptors out of the population? It's going to take years to recover."
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/hawk-poaching-raptors-animal-cruelty-norcal-lassen-12753393.php
cp
(6,623 posts)Jail time, massive fines, all of it.
A beloved friend who was a lifelong falconer would be all over this, but he passed away (soared away, I like to think) a year ago. In his stead, I call for justice for the raptors.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)WTF did this idiot think he was accomplishing?
Demovictory9
(32,449 posts)Kirk Lover
(3,608 posts)jberryhill
(62,444 posts)That's just deranged.
Is land really cheap out there? How can you own 80 acres and be that idiotic?
Raven123
(4,828 posts)Blatantly irresponsible, disrespecting life
Calculating
(2,955 posts)Sad, but true.
Ilsa
(61,694 posts)Hawks are awesome birds.
I hope his home is overrun with rats.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Ilsa
(61,694 posts)I have found hawks to be helpful, not bothersome like some birds. (For example, we have seen mockingbirds swoop and try to peck someone on the head.)
This willingness to kill seems like entertainment to me, and that makes me wonder if this is a sociopath who could be very dangerous.
flotsam
(3,268 posts)and donate it for a bird sanctuary.
TheBlackAdder
(28,183 posts)dalton99a
(81,451 posts)That must be it
TheBlackAdder
(28,183 posts)panader0
(25,816 posts)Demovictory9
(32,449 posts)In addition to the first nine birds, they found the decaying corpses of 126 dead raptors, two dead bobcats, a taxidermied mountain lion, and a number of other nongame birds, according to CDFW.
malchickiwick
(1,474 posts)I feel incredibly lucky every time a red-tail hawk or a golden eagle sits on the tree in front of my house. How anyone could take the life of such a creature is way beyond anything I can fathom.