Put into law in 1918, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was set into place to protect migratory bird species from extinction. Species like the snowy egret who were hunted for their prized feathers, were on the brink of disappearing from the landscape when the Act was put in place.
Originally a pact solely codified with Canada, it has since become an international treaty, one shared with the likes of Mexico, Japan and even Mother Russia. In essence, the Act “provides that it is unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, sell, purchase, barter, import, export, or transport any migratory bird, or any part, nest, or egg or any such bird, unless authorized under a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior.”
There are many migratory birds that we are able to hunt today including the delectable sandhill crane and a variety of goose and duck species.
That is, so long as we have the proper permits and tags required to do so.
In a story coming out of Northern California, a man was sentenced earlier this week in a massive case of migratory bird poaching. With 258 birds on the ground and not a tag in sight, authorities finally had their day in court last week, dishing out fines and hunting suspensions to the would-be guide.
After organizing a goose hunt in 2018, Carlos T. Ortiz, 27, of Live Oak along with nine other hunters shot and killed hundreds of snow geese and white-fronted geese near California’s Sutter National Wildlife Refuge, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney.
Following an investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Ortiz was found to have not placed a single tag on any of the birds that were shot.
Ortiz pleaded guilty to transportation and receipt of untagged migratory game birds. He was sentenced in federal court in Sacramento to a three-year hunting ban, three years of probation and a $1,000 fine. The two charges could have resulted in six months in prison, according to an information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
