Two men were indicted this week in Montana on over a dozen counts for allegedly killing approximately 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles, and selling their parts on the black market.
The New York Times identified the two as Montana local Simon Paul, 42, and Travis John Branson, 48, of Washington. They were previously charged with a total of 15 counts of conspiracy, unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles and violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits the trafficking of illegally taken flora and fauna.
The two men face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge alone.
Prosecutors alleged the two men used the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana as a hunting ground to purposefully “lure in eagles,” kill them and sell their parts, especially tail feathers, to buyers on the black market.
Court documents show messages Branson allegedly sent to buyers, stating he was “on a killing spree” to obtain tail feathers and was “committing felonies.” Another message allegedly includes a picture of a golden eagle tail set Branson was attempting to sell to a buyer.
Prosecutors alleged Branson would travel to Montana to help Paul lure in and kill the birds and would then assist in packing and transporting the eagles to potential buyers.
The New York Times reports it is unclear if either man has retained legal counsel and whether they have pleaded guilty to any charges.
Are bald eagles endangered?
The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, is a symbol of freedom and has been protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940.
Bald and golden eagles are not currently listed on the National Endangered Species List, although they were considered endangered from 1967 until 1995 and were listed as a threatened species until 2007, according to the American Eagle Foundation.
The foundation says the known number of bald eagles reached 417 nesting pairs in 1963. The decline of the bald eagle population was due in part to the insecticide DDT, which was used extensively in the 1940s and caused eggshells laid by birds who had ingested it to become incredibly thin, causing many eagle hatchlings to not survive birth.
Conservation and protection efforts have increased the numbers of bald eagles in the U.S. to an estimated 316,700 as of 2020, per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.