The Depravity Continues

Two US citizens have been charged with killing 3600 birds including their nation's protected symbol, the bald eagle, for profit. Parts and feathers were sold on the black market. A Montana grand jury indicted Simon Paul and Travis Branson for illegal traffiking and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940. The men hunted around the Flathead Indian Reservation using deer meat to entice the birds of prey. The pair made substantial sums of money from their illegal activity according to the indictment. Records show the sold a pair of bald eagle wings, four golden eagle tails and an entire golden eagle. They face up to eleven years in prison and fines of $275,000 each. Their trial is in January. [photo credit: Getty Images]

Eagles have made a recovery from the devastation caused by the indiscriminate use of DDT decades ago.  The pesticide was banned in 1972, after the publication of Rachel Carson's landmark book, Silent Spring.  The birds still face severe dangers in the their environment.  Lead pellets from ammunition and fishing tackle poses a dangerous health risk and often death.  Researchers reported high levels of lead exposure in 46% of eagles sampled in 38 states.  Lead is a neurotoxin that impairs a birds to fly, hunt and reproduce.  In high doses it causes seizures, breathing difficulties and death.  According to an expert, a lead fragment the size of a pin is enough to kill an eagle. Lead ammunition for wildfowl hunting was banned in 1991, but upland bird and big game hunters still use lead in their guns.