Endangered whooping cranes are part of conservation programs.
(Mirror Daily, United States) A young man in Beaumont, Texas shot two endangered whooping cranes while he was hunting. He is only nineteen years old and received a punishment of five years of probation, as well as a fee. He has to pay $25,815 as compensation. The court announced the decision earlier this week, on October 25.
Trey Joseph Frederick is a 19-year old young man who pleaded guilty to the accusation of killing two endangered whooping cranes. The incident happened while he was hunting on January 2016. Other people announced the authorities that the two birds were shot and that the Texan man was hunting nearby.
The federal court decided that the Trey Joseph Frederick would be assigned a five-year probation period. However, the young man also has to pay the $25,815 fee and spent two hundred hours doing tasks for the community service in the Wildlife Department.
The accused confessed that he was guilty and declared it at the court in May. He said that the didn’t know what species the birds were. By shooting them, he broke the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The document bans killing, trapping or trading the migratory birds in the United States.
In addition to the probation period, the fee, and the community service hours, Trey Joseph Frederick is not allowed to hunt in any of the states anymore. He isn’t allowed to fish, either. This is a light punishment, as the 19-year old Texan man could have been sentenced to one year in prison.
At first, he denied having anything to do with the two dead birds. However, he changed his mind and decided to tell the truth to the officers. He also declared that he felt sorry for killing the endangered birds.
According to the official documents, the two whooping cranes were found dead on January 11 in Jefferson County. Authorities confirmed the finding after being called by two people. Officers interviewed them and got information on Trey Joseph Frederick.
Whooping cranes have a special status in the United States. They are the tallest migratory birds in the states, and also the rarest. Statistics show that there are only four hundred fifty-two individuals. This is why there are special programs meant to help the birds regain their balance in the wild.
However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that no less than twenty whooping cranes have been killed by Americans in recent years.
Image courtesy of: Wikipedia