At least 7 protected birds killed
Warwick, RI (US)Incident Date: Sunday, Aug 31, 2003
County: Kent
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: William Warwock
A beagle club and its president have agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges for allegedly poisoning, trapping and shooting federally protected birds that were disrupting their hunting, federal prosecutors said on Nov 16, 2006.
Environmental authorities began investigating Little Rhody Beagle Club Inc. about three years ago when neighbors in Warwick noticed their dogs were becoming ill, probably because they ate poisoned carcasses the club used as bait, said Tom Connell, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office.
A criminal information filed in U.S. District Court accuses the club and its president, William Forward, of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and pesticide control laws by killing at least seven protected birds.
Prosecutors said the club targeted predatory birds including Red-tailed hawks, Cooper's Hawks, Great Horned Owls and others because the predators were eating rabbits that club members used to train hunting dogs.
Forward and the club allegedly injected carbofuran, a toxic pesticide, into eggs and animal carcasses used as bait to poison the birds. Investigators first detected the chemical in a dead turkey vulture in 2003.
The following year, Forward and the club used a steel leghold trap to catch a Great Horned Owl, prosecutors said.
The club is now using a different technique to protect rabbits from overhead predators, according to lawyers for both defendants.
"He recognized it was not the best approach, the proper approach and they stopped that some time ago," said C. Leonard O'Brien, an attorney for Forward.
Under a plea agreement, Forward must pay a $10,000 fine, resign his club membership for nine months and cannot hold office for one year. A similar agreement requires the club to pay a $20,000 fine, give up a rifle and leghold traps seized by investigators and bar firearms from its property for one year.
It must also allow environmental authorities to inspect the club.
Forward and club representatives have not yet pleaded guilty to the charges. References« RI State Animal Cruelty Map
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