2 men indicted in Montana for allegedly killing bald eagles

MONTANA — Two men were charged in Montana for reportedly killing thousands of birds illegally and selling feathers as well as other parts on the black market.

>> Read more trending news

Simon Paul, 42, and Travis John Branson, 48, were indicted in Montana on a count of conspiracy, 13 counts of unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles and a count of violating the Lacey Act, according to the New York Times. The Lacey Act is a federal law which prohibits “the trafficking of illegally taken wildlife.”

Prosecutors claim that Paul and Branson killed over 3,600 birds including protected bald and golden eagles, according to Reuters. This happened between Jan. 2015 and March 2021 by the Flatland Indian Reservation.

“The defendants then illegally sold the eagles on the black market for significant sums of cash across the United States and elsewhere,” prosecutors said in court records obtained by the Times.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the bald eagle almost went extinct in the mid-1900s due to habitat destruction, according to Reuters. Fish contamination by insecticide DDT caused the eagles’ eggs to break easily.

It became illegal to kill bald eagles in 1940, Reuters reported. The bald eagle was added to the endangered species list years later in 1967 but was removed from that list and the threatened species list in 2007.

If convicted, both men are facing up to 11 years in prison and fines of $275,000 each, Reuters reported.