A federal court in Minneapolis has ordered five Minnesota men and Ringnecks Forevermore of Bertha, Minn., to pay $5,000 in fines and more than $9,600 in restitution as part of their sentences for killing 96 federally-protected owls and hawks. The men and corporation were sentenced July 16, by U.S. Magistrate Judge Raymond Erickson after they were found guilty of using pole traps to kill hawks and owls near their pheasant rearing pens in Todd County. In addition to fines and restitution, each of the five men received three years probation during which they will be prohibited from hunting.
Details of individual sentences are as follows:
Gary Raymond Westergren of Plymouth, Minn., was fined $500 and ordered to pay $2,100 restitution.
Andrew Michael Suchy of Parkers Prairie, Minn., was fined $500 and ordered to pay $2,000 restitution.
Tim Warren Erp of New York Mills, Minn., was fined $500 and ordered to pay $300 restitution.
William Shaw of Bertha, Minn., was fined $500 and ordered to pay $2,600 restitution.
Bradley Shane Kneisl of Bertha, Minn., was fined $500 and ordered to pay $700 restitution.
The corporation, Ringnecks Forevermore, was fined $2,500 and ordered to pay $9,600 restitution. The corporation was also sentenced to five years probation during which it must develop a “detection and prevention” program that will help conserve migratory birds.
Ringnecks Forevermore was founded in Minnesota in 1999 to raise pheasants for release into the wild for hunting. Between May 1999 and May 2001, the defendants used pole traps and other methods to kill hawks and owls they claimed were feeding on pheasants confined to pens. Killing of hawks and owls is a misdemeanor violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a federal law that protects non-game migratory birds. Misdemeanor violations of the law carry fines up to $15,000 and six months confinement.
Ringnecks Forevermore in not affiliated in any way with “Pheasants Forever” a national non-profit organization dedicated to conserving pheasants and their habitats.
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 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 81 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.
