Last Thursday when a federal judge sentenced falconer Thomas Cullen to four months in jail and a $1,000 fine, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement special agents marked a welcome end to a five-year investigation into Cullen's violation of the Wild Bird Conservation Act, according to Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Healy in the Service's Northeast Region.
In 2000, Cullen, age 54, of Goshen, N.Y., imported two black sparrowhawks from England in violation of the act. The birds were imported as the personally owned pets of another person although they were actually intended for Cullen. Cullen also submitted documents to the Service with false information about the intended use of the imported birds. A jury convicted him of the two violations in September but acquitted him of another charge of importing saker falcons in violation of the act.
"Wildlife laws help conserve species," Healy said, "and those who flaunt these laws harm not just the wildlife, but all of us on this planet. Deliberate abuse of wildlife laws diminishes us all."
Falconers must be licensed by the Service, and Cullen holds such a license. The Service has some 940 licensed falconers in the 13-state Northeast Region from Maine to Virginia and some 5,500 falconers nationwide in every state but Hawaii.
Black sparrowhawks, or black goshawks, are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna ? an international treaty similar to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The Wild Bird Conservation Act focuses on exotic birds identified by CITES. Importers may obtain permits from the Service for exemptions under the act, including scientific research, zoological breeding or display, approved cooperative breeding programs, and importation of personally owned pets.
The maximum sentence Cullen faced on the Wild Bird Conservation Act violation and making false statements was seven years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Cullen was convicted in 1986 for illegally exporting red-tailed hawk eggs to England in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act. In that case, the court fined Cullen $13,000 and ordered him to perform 200 hours of community service and to serve five years of probation.
Each day hundreds of legal wildlife shipments enter the country through designated ports of entry ? live tropical fish from South America, Asia, and the Caribbean; live turtles and frogs (as food) from Asia; reptile leather handbags and shoes from Europe. At the same time, hundreds of illegal shipments ? elephant ivory from Africa; Asian medicinals; and caviar from Russian, Iran, and the Ukraine - sneak in disguised as something else or hide in legal shipments.
Each day wildlife inspectors at 18 ports of entry nationwide confiscate wildlife products from dozens of arriving travelers. Some travelers do not know the products came from animals protected by the international treaty joined by 169 countries. Live animals and plants as well as products made from them must have appropriate export and import permits before entering this country if they are on the CITES list of protected species.
Ports of entry designated for wildlife shipments in the Northeast Region are: Boston, ark, New York and Baltimore. Border ports are Buffalo and Champlain, N.Y.
Number of licensed falconers in the Service's Northeast Region, by state (note that this list changes almost daily with falconers added or removed): CT 8, DE 7, MA 69, MD 150, ME 22, NH 20, NJ 57, NY 241, PA 216, RI 4, VA 118, VT 18, WV 10.
For more information about the Cullen sentencing, see the U.S. Attorney's news release of Jan. 26, 2006, at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/Press%20Releases/January%202006/Cullen%20Sentencing%20PR.pdf.
For more information, visit the Service's Law Enforcement site at http://www.fws.gov/le/ and for more information about CITES, see http://www.cites.org
