Two men accused in eagle ‘killing spree’

Two men have been charged with illegally killing some 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, and selling their parts and feathers on the black market. Prosecutors accuse the men of killing the birds on or near the Flathead Indian Reservation in western Montana and elsewhere. A federal grand jury in Montana indicted the men on charges of violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, violating the Lacey Act concerning wildlife trafficking, and conspiracy. The men face up to 11 years in prison and fines of over $200,000 in what one of the defendants reportedly called a “killing spree.”

After shooting the eagles, prosecutors said in court records, “the defendants then illegally sold the eagles on the black market for significant sums of cash across the United States and elsewhere.”

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