Posted on 08/03/2011 3:22:04 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
It has been said that no good deed goes unpunished. Today a young girl who saved a lost baby bird from a violent death is learning the truth of that adage.
The child, 11-year-old Skylar Capo, noticed a tiny woodpecker on the lawn of her father’s Fredericksburg, Virginia, home as the family cat was poised above it, preparing to strike. Skylar, whose goal is to become a veterinarian, sprang into action. She shooed the cat off its prey, then gently gathered up the lost creature and carefully placed it in a temporary cage for the trip back to her mother’s house. Her plan was to care for the bird for a day or two, then release it.
But during a stop at a home improvement store on the drive back, the Capos were approached by an agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The woman told them that the woodpecker is a protected species and needed to be released back into the wilderness—which is precisely what Skylar did the moment she and her mother arrived home.
The two assumed the matter was resolved until two weeks later, when the same agent appeared at their door, this accompanied by a State Trooper. Alison Capo, Skylar’s mom, was slapped with a $535 fine and warned that she may face jail time for violating the Federal Migratory Bird Act, which makes it illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to Federal regulations.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
The government agency which issued the fine has backed down and even apologized. Still, if there was ever an example of how overbearing and overextending the government is, this is it.
How did the agent know where they lived?
A few years ago I found a feather from a Burrowing Owl. I kept the feather. Come and get me coppers! I won’t be taken alive!
Hey a least they didn’t sell rabbits.
Thats a real federal offense.
lol.
Previous discussions:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2757566/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2758010/posts
Heck, I was hoping they sent her and the kid to jail, they are probley both liberals and voted for the insanity in the first place.......
Well, at least the State Trooper didn’t taser the kid, shoot the family dog and beat up the mother for resisting.
Lake Coeur d’Alene is flush with bald eagles in December (as are the pine trees in my yard).
My kids have LOTS of feathers from them...supposedly this is still illegal??
Out of the goodness of their heart? Or because they have crap all over them?
Bureaucrats NEVER apologize voluntarily. And they are almost NEVER sincere.
‘bout 10 years ago Hitlery did some function near an Indian Reservation —somebody starstruck gave her an eagle feather.
Hitlery accepted, but some slick operator realized it might have been a legal faux-pas, and to cover their fannies they....
Turned in the feature and charged the giver with a FELONY.
That sounds made-up, right?
I think we've reached the point that you don't dare do anything without first getting the permission of the government. Ah, liberty. So nice while it lasted.
Hasenpfeffer anyone?
Nothing against the poster, but I’m officially sick and tired of this topic now. :)
Flunky bureaucracies mandating mindless monkey-laws enforced by morons wielding the power of government, and it keeps growing every year.
Some of the biggest jerks in law enforcement are game wardens
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency rescinded the jail threat and the fine and issued the family a letter of apology. Good. However, this incident demonstrates the totalitarianism aspects of the left and why they want total control over every aspect of our lives. It is scary but most Americans are oblivious to it and believe that ‘it can’t happen here’. They’ll keep believing that until its too late to stop it. This incident is yet another canary singing in the mine.
Yes, it is.
Only Indians (or those granted Indian status -- whatever that means) can legally possess eagle feathers.
You wouldn't believe the red tape involved and the hoops you have to jump through.
But unless you're an Indian with a special license, you CANNOT be in possession of eagle feathers.
Hide 'em.
Sounds good, but, I think I’ll go have some Turtle Soup. Yum..
It’s good that authorities put an end to this girl’s criminal act. If they let this go, her criminal behavior could escallate into something even more terrible, like lemonade sales.
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