Simon Paul and Travis John Branson were indicted for allegedly gunning down thousands of birds, including eagles protected by federal law, over the course of several years.

Simon Paul and Travis John Branson were indicted for allegedly gunning down thousands of birds, including eagles protected by federal law, over the course of several years.

A grand jury indicted two men on charges of going on a yearslong “killing spree” of federally protected eagles and selling “this country’s national symbol” on the black market, court documents revealed.

Simon Paul and Travis John Branson were each charged last week with one count of alleged conspiracy and 13 counts of violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Federal prosecutors said they have messages from Branson stating that he was “committing felonies” and “telling buyers he was ‘on a killing spree’ to obtain eagle tail feathers for future sales.”

Branson would travel from Washington state to the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana to meet up with Paul who’d “help kill, transport and ship bald and golden eagles for future sales on the black market,” according to the indictment.

    • ddhEnglish
      18•10 months ago

      Can I suggest volunteering or a nice stamp collection?

      • BruceTwarzen
        10•10 months ago

        Or work in a slaughterhouse. You get to kill helpless animals all day long.

      • Johanno
        2•10 months ago

        But where’s the thrill of hunting then? I mean the thrill of using a high tech rifle shoot to unsuspecting birds.

        • @Buddahriffic
          3•10 months ago

          You could use a high tech rifle to shoot unsuspecting stamps.

      • Johanno
        1•10 months ago

        But where’s the thrill of hunting then? I mean the thrill of using a high tech rifle shoot to unsuspecting birds.

    • @Cocodapuf
      -1•10 months ago

      I don’t think I can “meh” hard enough for this article. With wars going on, and so many actual problems in the world, I just can’t care about this.

      • ddhEnglish
        1•10 months ago

        I’m of the other view. There are enough humans with human problems, as bad as that is, but pushing endangered species towards extinction is worse.

        • @Cocodapuf
          1•9 months ago

          The bald eagle isn’t really endangered anymore. It’s made a huge comeback over the years. Now thier conservation status isn’t “endangered” or even “threatened”, it’s now officially “least concern”, which essentially means “we have our eye on their species, but they’re fine”.

          Heh, ask free range chicken farmers what they think is bald eagles, they’ll have a lot to say.