In addition to the 82-month incarceration, U.S. District Court Judge Elaine Bucklo fined Silva $100,000 and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service during a 3-year supervised release program following the prison term. This is one of the most severe sentences ever imposed for bird smuggling.
Also sentenced was Gila Daoud, Silvas mother. She will serve a 27-month prison term to be followed by a one-year supervised release program with concurrent 200 hours of community service.
As she handed down the sentences, Judge Bucklo said, "The real victims of these crimes were the birds themselves and our children and future generations who may never have the opportunity to see any of these rare birds."
On January 30, 1996, Silva pled guilty to a far-reaching conspiracy to smuggle or attempt to smuggle into this country some of the worlds most endangered, beautiful, and highly protected wild birds. The value of the smuggled wildlife totaled $1,386,900. Included in these illegal shipments were substantial numbers of extremely rare hyacinth macaws. Silva also pled guilty to filing a false income tax return in connection with his sale of birds.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Division of Law Enforcements Branch of Special Operations spearheaded "Operation Renegade," a 3-year international probe to stem illegal trade in wild birds. "The severity of the sentence in this case sends a clear signal that the United States will absolutely not tolerate the depletion of irreplaceable natural resources for personal gain," said John Rogers, acting Service director.
The hyacinth macaw, found primarily in Brazil, has a wild population numbering between 2,000 and 5,000. One of these birds can command a price of $5,000 to $12,000. Because of this and
the birds precarious status in the wild, the hyacinth macaw has been accorded the highest level of protection provided under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international wildlife treaty to which the United States and 131 other nations are parties. Worldwide, the illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar-a-year business, second only to illegal drug trade.
"The United States takes its obligations and responsibilities under CITES very seriously," said Rogers. "This case reflects the Services deep commitment to safeguarding the global communitys natural resources."
The prosecution was led by the United States Attorneys Office in Chicago and assisted by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
