Posted on 12/06/2013 2:21:03 PM PST by Kaslin
The punishment for killing a golden or bald eagle in the United States comes at a hefty price. Simply having eagle feathers or parts in your possession will land you in prison with a heavy fine to pay. Felony killing of eagles comes with a fine of $250,000 and prison time. These penalties fall under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
This law, originally passed in 1940, provides for the protection of the bald eagle and the golden eagle (as amended in 1962) by prohibiting the take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, unless allowed by permit Bald Eagle sitting in tree (16 U.S.C. 668(a); 50 CFR 22).
"Take" includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb (16 U.S.C. 668c; 50 CFR 22.3). The 1972 amendments increased civil penalties for violating provisions of the Act to a maximum fine of $5,000 or one year imprisonment with $10,000 or not more than two years in prison for a second conviction. Felony convictions carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or two years of imprisonment. The fine doubles for an organization. Rewards are provided for information leading to arrest and conviction for violation of the Act.
Wind farms in the United States kill thousands of birds, including eagles, every day. For years, the industry has escaped punishment for doing so and now, the Obama administration is getting ready to give the industry a free pass forever.
The Obama administration is moving toward finalizing a rule that would give alternative energy farms a pass for killing bald and golden eagles for decades, just weeks after it took legal action for the first time against a company for doing so.
The rule by the Interior Department extends the length of the permits that allow farms to unintentionally kill the eagles without penalty from five to 30 years, according to department records.
The rule authorizes the “non-purposeful” killing of eagles, but also will require farms to implement certain guidelines to help with eagle conservation. The White House finalized its review of the rule Thursday, The Hill reports.
An official with the Interior Department tells The Hill the department has been working for more than a year on the proposal with stakeholders.
The Obama administration, which has been a big supporter of green energy initiatives, faced backlash in August from environmental groups over the 30-year permit proposal.
Thirty years? The same so-called environmental groups supporting wind also support the slaughter of thousands of birds each year, which has a devastating impact on the eco-system.Thirty years of a free pass means millions and millions of dead birds. The wind industry is responsible for more animal deaths in one year than the oil industry has ever been. Regardless, hypocritical green activists aren't out in the streets protesting wind and the Obama administration is willing to look the other way so long as wind serves its political purposes. Only one energy company, Duke Energy, has been fined for killing eagles. The punishment came down on the company for the killing of just 14 eagles. Again, wind turbines kill thousands of birds and eagles every day.
But it isn't just birds and eagles these wind death traps are killing, they're also killing hundreds of thousands of bats every year, minimum.
In the process of creating sustainable energy, wind turbines across the United States are also taking a toll on a species that is vital to our ecosystem: bats.
More than 600,000 bats fell victim to the turbines in 2012, according to a new study. The turbines spin at up to 179 miles per hour, rising hundreds of feet into the air.
And as a another reminder, wind turbines are anything but "green" and "eco-friendly." The material needed to build turbines comes from rare earths, which can only be mined in China.
Just throw out ,Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act , just another stupid law
As a symbol of The United States of America the bastard is overjoyed to be rid of them....spit
Wouldn’t it be nice if he also lifted the ban on DDT. It appears we have saved several thousand birds and killed several million human beings in the meantime.
WOW! This is great! A true dhimmicrap, libtard, socialist dilemma! Eagles or Wind Power? Which to pick? Somewhere there is a tree-hugging dimwit swimming in his/her own sweat, pondering, weighing the (relative) morality of sacrificing the long term health of Mother Earth in exchange for preserving the intrinsic beauty of the majestic eagle...
Another hew hours and their heads will start exploding.
Pass the popcorn.
All the environmentalist groups are up in arms about this and all over the MSM denouncing this unlawful act by our President........NOT......Not a peep from any of them. If this were a Republican president, there would be millions marching on Washington tomorrow.
No surprise. He hates the symbols of America.
You can be sure of that
So, will Duke Energy get its $1M fine back for killing eagles? The silence of the environmentalists tells you all you need to know about them, it is not about the earth, animals or environment, but purely politics. Just like the NOW b_t_he’s when Clinton was messing around with Lewinsky — nothing but silence.
Why doesnt the TEA Party march on Washington? That would make the lefts heads explode. Such a radical band of right wingers protecting the environment while the animal loving liberals kill off Americas symbol of freedom.
It would be poetic to watch.
Next time use your friggen brain before you start typing
That should have been lifted long ago, but he wont do that. The left is for the ban
</sarc>
The reasoning of greens is absurd. They are in the woods shooting one owl they reintroduced because they love to eat baby spotted owls. I am not making this up.
Killed an entire industry with thousands of jobs for this owl - then they realize another owl loves to eat spotted owls. Who woulda thunk it?
Same thing with the wolves - they are slaughtering white tail deer and elk.
Their record speaks for itself. Wind turbines are another government boondoggle.
The nut-job mental midgets in PETA will still stand behind Obama and his ilk. Politics trumps everything in the leftist community. Hypocricy means nothing....provided their corrupt media does not get out of line and make mention of it.
The most majestic free bird ground to pieces by government subsidized machines.
Perfect symbolism for what these idiots are doing to our country...
I find this hilarious. Nobama cracking the wackos right in the nuts.
and 573,000 bird fatalities per year (including 83,000 raptor fatalities)
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