idiots with guns kill two endangered whooping cranes

[anasv]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Ptah (a host of the The DU Lounge forum).

Two endangered whooping cranes shot to death:

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/news/2014/005.html

I follow the efforts to reintroduce them in the East, and an average of something like two a year are shot out of an Eastern population of about a hundred. The effort to raise each one and imprint the first year cranes on migrating via following ultralights is incredibly labor intensive (months on migration, 24/7) and expensive (some money from Fish&Wildlife, but most from private donations including school kids raising money), then some idiot comes along and kills them, and a judge fines them $1.

Just before the news about this killing came out, Operation Migration, the group flying the migration had completed this years trip with...eight cranes.

[In_The_Wind]

1. They are too beautiful to end their life this way.

[marzipanni]

2. How sad.

I hope they catch the jerk who did this. If they do, I think the punishment will be quite severe, or are you saying previous crane shooters have gotten off lightly?

from your link -

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service News release Whooping cranes are protected under two federal laws: the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Penalties could range up to a $100,000 fine and/or one year in federal prison

[In_The_Wind]

3. IIRC There were Cranes shot a few years ago.

[New Orleans Strong]

5. At least three in Louisiana

in the past couple of years. In one incident where two birds were shot and killed, the two teens responsible were charged with hunting out of season.
The decades of work to have wild whooping cranes in LA again after over one hundred years... At one time there were just 14 on the planet. North America's tallest bird. Easy target, I suppose -

[joshdawg]

4. I can almost hear it now.

A comment from NRA's Wayne Littlepeter: "If only these cranes had guns, this would not have happened."

The idiots who did this should be hung up to dry.

[Scuba]

6. "... judge fines them $1." Are you shitting me?

[Progressive dog]

8. $1 fine, Indiana 2009

Googled and found the $1 mentioned in an article about more recent fines.
The last two fines I could find were $5k fine + $10k to bird sanctuary in Texas and $85k to N. Dakota man.

[Hoyt]

7. The callous, ignoramuses should be prevented from owning/using guns.

[Ptah]

9. This is not Lounge material, please self-delete.

[anasv]

10. where does it belong then? I found no place else appropriate.

[Ptah]

11. Two suggestions:

Gun Control & RKBA

Gun Control Reform Activism

[anasv]

12. In other words, off in the unread boonies somewhere.

If the moderators think it doesn't belong here, they will delete it.

[Ptah]

13. I am one of the Lounge hosts and ask once again that you delete it.

[anasv]

15. see message 12.

I am sure if it violates DU standards, it will be deleted.

[MH1]

14. anasv, the Environment & Energy group is fairly active, and this is a good topic for there (I think)

I'm not a host, just someone who is interested in environmental issues. If E&E has a problem, it's that (to me) too many of the posts are about energy, and often devolve into the same old arguments about one technology vs. another. I tend to read the OTHER posts, about topics like this, but they need more of them. That said, if the word "gun" appears anywhere in an issue, depending on the hosts, any given forum might try to hustle you off to the gungeon. I would HOPE that's not the case with E&E though, as hunters / poaching is definitely a relevant environmental issue.

In any case thanks for bringing this item to our attention!