What can a concerted group of birders (all of us @ MDOSPREY) do to put
pressure on the Attorney General's office to prosecute to the fullest
extent of the law?  Please provide me with any helpful additional
information. I am willing to "stick my neck out" to make a statement
(excuse the pun!).

Patricia K Howell
Laurel, MD

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-----Original Message-----
From: Maryland Birds & Birding [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Denise Ryan
Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 12:49 PM
To: 
Subject: [MDOSPREY] Endangered Cranes Shot - not in MD


 Who knew there was Crane hunting?!  
 
Kansas hunters shoot endangered cranes
Thursday, November 11, 2004 Posted: 9:44 AM EST (1444 GMT) 

WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- Two of the world's roughly 500 whooping cranes
were shot by a group of hunters who said they mistook the endangered
birds for sandhill cranes, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent said.

Farmers found the injured cranes Saturday near the Quivira National
Wildlife Refuge in south-central Kansas. One crane died Wednesday; the
other is still recovering.

Charges have not been filed against the seven hunters, and authorities
won't release their names until the U.S. Attorney's office reviews the
case, said wildlife agent Kenny Kessler.

Killing a whooping crane could lead to a sentence of up to a one year in
prison and a $100,000 fine.

The hunters said they thought the birds were sandhills when they opened
fire on the first day of goose and sandhill crane season. They said they
believed the birds would survive after watching them fly off.

The cranes were part of a flock of about 230 that migrates from Canada's
Wood Buffalo National Park to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on
the Texas Gulf Coast each winter.
 

Denise Ryan
Washington, DC