The Nation : Scores Indicted in Illegal Bird Hunting

Federal wildlife officials arrested or indicted scores of hunting guides and owners of sportsmen’s clubs in Texas after a three-year undercover investigation that found widespread poaching and “flagrant violations” of laws regulating the killing of waterfowl. Justice Department officials said that 23 persons involved in commercial hunting operations in Texas were arrested in a sweep, and felony indictments were returned against about 50 others. More than 130 waterfowl hunters in six states also will be charged with misdemeanor violations of hunting laws. The arrests followed a probe of 41 Texas hunt clubs, conducted jointly by Justice Department officials and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said more than 100 undercover agents documented about 1,300 violations of wildlife laws or hunting regulations at the clubs since 1985, including the illegal shooting of herons, ibises, hawks and other non-game birds.