Minnesota Men, Pheasant Raising Group Charged With Killing Protected Owls and Hawks

Five Minnesota men and a Bertha, Minn., corporation "Ringnecks Forevermore," were charged in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis today for their roles in killing approximately 100 owls and hawks protected by federal law. Gary Raymond Westergren of Plymouth; Andrew Michael Suchy of Parkers Prairie; Tim Warren Erp of New York Mills; and William Shaw and Bradley Shane Kneisl both of Bertha, Minn., were charged with misdemeanor violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that protects non-game migratory birds.

Also charged was "Ringnecks Forevermore," a group incorporated in May 1999 in the state of Minnesota whose stated purpose is to raise pheasants for release into the wild for hunting. The men are alleged to have used pole traps to kill hawks and owls near their pheasant pens in Todd County between May 1999 and May 2001.

The charged corporation is not affiliated in any way with "Pheasants Forever," a national non-profit organization dedicated to conservation of pheasants and their habitats.

The filed information is the result of a year-long investigation by U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents into activities of "Ringnecks Forevermore." Service special agents were assisted in their investigation by conservation officers from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. If convicted, each defendant faces fines of up to $15,000 and six months confinement. The corporation, Ringnecks Forevermore, faces fines of up to $15,000.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principle 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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses nearly 540 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 service 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 more information about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes - Big Rivers Region, visit our home page at http://midwest.fws.gov">

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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

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