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.
It’s not enough to destroy the earth. The ruling class needs hunting trophies of the species they’re driving extinct.
Our world is ruled by evil sociopaths. That’s the unifying theory that explains everything. Ruthless sociopaths with infinite money have declared war on the planet and everything that lives here.
These guys are not part of “the ruling class.” I live in this region and there is a backwards group of local asshats who feel entitled to hunt and kill protected creatures for profit or hunt using illegal methods and leave carcasses to waste for the sheer fun of it. These people are typically working class and this black market hunting would provide them with income they probably would not be able to get otherwise. We have a LOT of wild lands out here, it’s a very rural area.
Question is what class are the buyers part of.
As the other person said, who do you think is buying them?
Hicks are everywhere. These fuckers need to lose their freedom for a long time.
I don’t think that’s what they intended - these scumfucks enrich themselves by supplying the ruling class with these grisly trophies.
Are those people part of the ruling class? Never heard of them nor did a brief search bring anything up (I’m not American though).
Anyway, instead of calling it a “war” by the ruling class I prefer to explain stuff with Hanlon’s Razor which fits here, too.
I do see what you mean, but I do have to disagree on that point.
Someone involved in illegal bird killing or other acts of environmental destruction (oil, gas, producing garbage, …) most surely knows what the effects of their actions are, but their want for personal gain is bigger.
And the moral difference between doing something terrible out of mallice or greed is very small, if it even exists.
Slavery isn’t better when it’s done just for the money.
You’re right about this specific case. Those guys were probably just greedy to the point of evil.
However, the comment I replied to made a pretty universal claim about rulers. And at least looking at our rulers in Europe I see more incompetence than malice.
However, the comment I replied to made a pretty universal claim about rulers.
Yeah, universal statements tend to lack nuance.
But especially with the right-wing parties I see quite a bit of malice for the point of personal gain.
And at least in Austria, Germany and the UK the conservatives are so deep into working for personal gain, that they completely forget what would benefit the country and the people.
(I don’t have enough deep enough insight into the governments of other countries in Europe to say anything about that, but from what I read, Hungary and Italy are not better off)
“So you see, that is why Evil will always triumph: because Good is dumb.”
The ruling class needs hunting trophies of the species they’re driving extinct.
Bald Eagles are not endangered.
Niether are filthy rich sociopaths. Maybe we should do something about that.
What do the filthy rich have to do with this?
Who do you think is paying these chucklefucks to murder birds? It’s not poor people with no money…
Give them The Promethean Punishment. Expose their livers, and let the birds have at it.
Persians have you beat:
It ostensibly entailed trapping the victim between two boats, feeding and covering them with milk and honey, and allowing them to fester and be devoured by insects and other vermin over time.
That might be a worse fate, but it’s not as poetic as being devoured by birds for the crime of murdering birds.
Some people have zero respect for their own lives, and by extension, any living thing. Money insidiously affects all, whether you’re a have or a have not.
We must try our best to nurture and understand our world instead of “conquering” it.
Bald Eagles are pests in some of Alaska. They violated the law and so are poachers, but how is this ethically different from working at a slaughterhouse?
I love animals, i eat them, i don’t care if they rot away in a factory farm and never saw the sunlight, but man i do really care and love animals. Right, got it.
Did you stretch before you got to twisting?
I’m confused why you’re responding that to me
Glad they were charged. So many birds died.
biggest montana crime of 2023
No, that would be this-
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/05/politics/montana-abortion-restrictions-greg-gianforte/index.html
Birds aren’t real!
🦅🔫🦅🔫🦅🔫
Welp… ya gotta have a hobby.
Can I suggest volunteering or a nice stamp collection?
Or work in a slaughterhouse. You get to kill helpless animals all day long.
But where’s the thrill of hunting then? I mean the thrill of using a high tech rifle shoot to unsuspecting birds.
You could use a high tech rifle to shoot unsuspecting stamps.
But where’s the thrill of hunting then? I mean the thrill of using a high tech rifle shoot to unsuspecting birds.
Oh I’ve got a hobby thanks. Perhaps these gentlemen might wish to try something else.
No shit, Sherlock. What’s the point of your comment?
Trolling people like you?
Can I suggest instead volunteering or a nice stamp collection?
BOH-RIIIIIINGGGG!!!
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.
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.
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.
Another day of “prosecutor uses inflammatory words to help newspapers write headlines”. It’s not a “killing spree”, it’s just poaching. They are normal poachers, not serial killers.
Another day of prosecution using the defendant’s words against them. Did you read the article? They literally said that in text messages
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.”
It doesn’t really say the context though. And, again, it doesn’t matter if they believe it themselves. I’m not defending them. I’m saying this is no different from other poachers, and describing it as a killing spree when it went on over years is clickbait. Regardless of if they said it or not.
I think you just lack the humility to admit fault
I admit I didn’t read that, but I also think it’s ridiculous that just because they at some point texted that, that it somehow makes it an accurate description.
Accurate or not, it’s useful for the prosecution.
It shows they knew what they were doing was wrong but kept doing it.I mean what else would you call killing 3000 birds? That’s an insane amount.
Killing one protected animal makes you a poacher, killing THOUSANDS over years for no valid reason certainly counts as serial killer behavior.
I mean over 3k birds sounds like a spree of killing sprees to me. The headline says birds, so there’s no chance of confusion that it means people. They are poachers who went on a series of bird killing sprees.
spree
/sprē/
noun
a spell or sustained period of unrestrained activity of a particular kind.
Unless you dispute the word ‘killing,’ which I would also be happy to define for you, I’m pretty sure ‘killing spree’ is the correct description
