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Bald eagle-parts trafficking suspect urged to surrender
Conservation service not ready to lay charges
Frank Luba
The Province
Thursday, April 07, 2005
A prime suspect in the eagle-parts trafficking case was urged to turn himself in yesterday by a B.C. conservation officer.
And Lance Sundquist, manager of the province's Conservation Officer Service, said as many as 500 bald eagles are being killed every year on B.C.'s south coast.
The carcasses of as many as 50 bald eagles were found on Squamish Nation land in North Vancouver in the past few months.
Sundquist said the suspect is a B.C. resident and member of a First Nation community.
No charges have been laid, but the conservation service hopes to recommend charges in a few weeks.
The suspect has lived in the Vancouver area for the "last period of time" but is not originally from Vancouver. Sundquist said he is being closely monitored.
"The eagles are being killed by more than one person and being collected by this individual . . . and that individual is responsible for the distribution of the eagle parts," said Sundquist.
He said B.C. is working with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and the RCMP in the investigation. He added that other suspects are also being investigated and said more than 90 tips have been received from the public.
A $12,000 reward has been offered with contributions from the government, the Humane Society of Canada and the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation.
Sundquist said the eagles are being trafficked around North America. An eagle carcass can be worth $3,000 on the black market. The most valuable parts are the feathers, talons, beaks and bones. The trade could be worth as much as $1.5 million a year.
Sundquist could not estimate what effect the poaching has on B.C's eagle population.
Under the province's Wildlife Act, penalties for poaching or trafficking in eagle parts can be as high as $50,000. Under federal legislation, penalties can be as high as $150,000 and five years' imprisonment for illegal export.
Duncan's Terry Antoine, a member of the Cowichan band of the Salish tribe, was sentenced in 2002 to two years in prison in the U.S. and ordered to pay $147,000 in restitution after being convicted of trafficking in eagle parts.
fluba@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2005
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WESTCOAST NEWS
Officials say they know who has been selling eagle parts
They are asking man to come forward voluntarily and talk
Richard Chu
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, April 07, 2005
NORTH VANCOUVER - Conservation officials say they know who has been distributing parts of 50 eagles found slaughtered on the North Shore this winter, and they want the man to voluntarily come forward to talk to them about the case.
"Eagles are being killed by more than one person, being collected by this individual we have identified, and that individual is responsible for the distribution of the eagle parts," Lance Sundquist, manager of the provincial Conservation Officer Service said Wednesday.
He could not provide further information about the suspect except that he is a Canadian man of first nations' descent who has lived in the Vancouver area but is not from the area.
They have not publicly identified him and he has not been charged.
"We are monitoring the locations of the individual," Sundquist said. "We have a very good understanding of where that individual is, and we are simply encouraging that person at this point in time to come voluntarily, come meet with us and have a discussion."
Sundquist said the conservation service is still in the investigation stage and not yet in a position to recommend charges.
He confirmed that most of the trafficking in eagle parts is occurring in Canada and the U.S., but said it is not likely the result of a well organized group.
"The groups are not necessarily well organized and it doesn't appear to be one individual or a couple of individuals that are in charge of the entire process. It's a number of people involved in the distributing; it's a number of people involved in the killing of eagles," Sundquist said.
In addition to asking the suspect to come forward, he is also making a public plea for other people involved to contact the conservation service.
"As part of our investigation, we've identified a number of individuals who are involved in this activity that goes beyond the North Shore."
A $12,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to a conviction.
© The Vancouver Sun 2005