Between November 1999 and January 2000, investigators from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, working with agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, investigated a mass kill of birds on the Riegel Farm on Beaver Pike in Jackson. State wildlife investigators counted 486 dead birds that included 357 mourning doves, 85 Canada geese, 19 crows, three meadowlarks, six horned larks, four killdeer, five red winged blackbirds and seven grackles. The birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that protects migratory birds and makes it unlawful to "take" birds without a federal permit.
In addition to the dead birds, State wildlife investigators also found approximately 100 pounds of poisoned corn on 50 bait sites on the farm. The corn had been mixed with Warbex, an agricultural insecticide used to kill lice and grubs on cattle.
The case was jointly prosecuted by Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio Greg Lockhart.
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 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 535 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 70 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 programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our website at http://midwest.fws.gov
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