Birds with Mutilated Bills Found on Beach
The birds are protected by the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A conviction under the Endangered Species Act carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $100,000 fine for an individual or $200,000 fine for a business for each violation. The dead pelicans will be sent to the Services Clarke R. Bavin Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, where necropsies will be performed to determine the cause of death, Chang said. Wildlife forensics investigators also will search for clues that could lead to a solution of the case, Chang said.
"Were asking people to report any information they may have about these pelican deaths and to keep an eye out for suspicious activity around pelicans at the beach," Chang said. "We all have a stake in this. This is everybodys wildlife."
Anyone with information is asked to call 503-682-6131.
Brown pelicans were listed in 1970, under a Federal wildlife protection law that pre-dated the Endangered Species Act. They are large, dark gray-brown water birds with white around the head and neck. They can weigh up to 8 pounds and larger individuals have wing spans of over 7 feet. Their decline was due primarily to the effects of the pesticide DDT, which caused thinning of their egg shells. Some populations of brown pelicans in the eastern United States have rebounded but populations off the West Coast remain low.
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 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 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.
