'Like nothing we have ever seen': NorCal man accused of killing more than 100 hawks

[Demovictory9]

A man in Lassen County was arrested Sunday after his 80-acre property was allegedly found littered with the carcasses of more than 100 dead hawks and other birds in what the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is calling the largest raptor-poaching bust in state history.

"It's like nothing we have ever seen," said Capt. Patrick Foy of CDFW's law enforcement division. "I've been doing this for 21 years and some of us have been around in excess of three decades. We all kind of looked at each other and said we've known of nothing close to this many raptors involved in a poaching case."

***



"When you think about what raptors eat, it's rodents, voles, mice, rats and squirrels. Those populations are very likely going to increase," said Foy. "More people want to see more raptors and less rats — but ultimately, that's going to be reversed."

"There's no question about it, it's going to be a concern for the immediate vicinity," he said. "Taking 130 raptors out of the population? It's going to take years to recover."


https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/hawk-poaching-raptors-animal-cruelty-norcal-lassen-12753393.php

[cp]

1. Throw the book at him

Jail time, massive fines, all of it.
A beloved friend who was a lifelong falconer would be all over this, but he passed away (soared away, I like to think) a year ago. In his stead, I call for justice for the raptors.

[Angry Dragon]

8. 5 years for every bird, $5000 per bird, take away his guns forever

[jberryhill]

2. Why?

WTF did this idiot think he was accomplishing?

[Demovictory9]

3. Just liked shooting birds out of the sky?

[Kirk Lover]

6. Some people just like to shoot at moving animals and kill it..ya know for fun.

[jberryhill]

16. Aren't there enough ones which are okay to shoot?

That's just deranged.

Is land really cheap out there? How can you own 80 acres and be that idiotic?

[Raven123]

4. Now there's a person who shouldn't own a gun

Blatantly irresponsible, disrespecting life

[Calculating]

5. Some people just like shooting animals

Sad, but true.

[Ilsa]

7. Sick person with a gun. Dangerous, I bet.

Hawks are awesome birds.
I hope his home is overrun with rats.

[Blue_true]

10. Don't understand why he killed birds that helped him. nt

[Ilsa]

18. I think that could be a sign of him being dangerous.

I have found hawks to be helpful, not bothersome like some birds. (For example, we have seen mockingbirds swoop and try to peck someone on the head.)

This willingness to kill seems like entertainment to me, and that makes me wonder if this is a sociopath who could be very dangerous.

[flotsam]

9. Confiscate this Bastard's land

and donate it for a bird sanctuary.

[TheBlackAdder]

11. Is that a mountain lion in the second picture to the right?

[dalton99a]

13. "a taxidermied mountain lion"

That must be it

[TheBlackAdder]

14. I wasn't sure if it was a cat scoping out the banquet.

[panader0]

17. A bird dog?

[Demovictory9]

15. In addition to the first nine birds, they found the decaying corpses of 126 dead raptors, two dead b

In addition to the first nine birds, they found the decaying corpses of 126 dead raptors, two dead bobcats, a taxidermied mountain lion, and a number of other nongame birds, according to CDFW.

[malchickiwick]

12. This is reprehensible. Those are such amazing creatures.

I feel incredibly lucky every time a red-tail hawk or a golden eagle sits on the tree in front of my house. How anyone could take the life of such a creature is way beyond anything I can fathom.