Two men have been accused of killing thousands of birds including Golden and Bald eagles and selling their body parts on the “black market” – as one of the suspects boasted he was “killing,” court papers allege.
Simon Paul and Travis John Branson are accused in a Montana federal indictment last week of killing about 3,600 birds including the federally protected Golden and Bald Eagles, the latter a US national symbol.
Branson boasted in the message that he “[O]out [here] committing a crime” and he told the chicken buyer that he was “killing,” according to the indictment.
Paul and Branson “illegally sold falcons on the black market for large sums of cash throughout the United States and elsewhere,” the filing alleges.
The two poachers allegedly ran the lucrative scheme from January 2015 to March 2021, selling the wings and tails of majestic animals they killed near Ronan, Montana on the edge of the Flathead Indian Reservation, the filing alleges.
Simon Paul and Travis John Branson are accused of illegally killing Golden and Bald Eagles and then selling them on the black market. Universal Image Group via Getty Images The two are accused of killing 3,600 birds — including Golden and Bald Eagles — from 2015 to 2021. MediaNews Group via Getty Images
The couple raked in more than $350 a pop on the winged apex predator, court papers said.
From April 30, 2020, to March 13, 2021, the man sold or offered to sell parts or whole birds of two Bald Eagles and 11 Golden eagles, according to the indictment, first reported by Rasul.
Branson would travel from Washington to the Reservation “to shoot” the birds and Paul — who lives near Ronan — was the “shooter” and “dispatcher,” court papers allege.
The man was hunting a winged apex predator on the edge of the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Getty Images
In one incident on March 13, 2021, the two men “returned to a deer that had been killed earlier to fish for eagles,” and Branson shot Gold, which Paul had cleaned, before hauling off his share, the indictment alleges.
They were both charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of wildlife trafficking. Branson is charged with eight counts of illegal trafficking of Bald and Golden Eagles and Paul is charged with five counts of the same crime.
Branson faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted on all charges while Paul faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
The couple is set to appear in Montana federal court on January 8. AP
They are scheduled to appear in court on Jan 8.
It’s unclear who their criminal defense attorney is and a phone number could not be found for the man.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
