May 28th 2009
Beating Liberty With A Stick
Q
uick, can you tell a Heermann’s gull (below), a federal species of concern, from your run-of-the-mill flying beach rat (above)? You’d better be able to answer yes, or be prepared to face the wrath of the federal critter police:
LAGUNA BEACH (OC Register) – A Kansas man is contesting a $275 fine by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for attacking a rare gull in Laguna Beach when the bird tried to steal his wife’s ice cream.
Dragan Djuric, 50, of Wichita, Kan., opted not to pay the fine and to bring the matter before a federal judge in Los Angeles County Court, said Mona Iannelli with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Djuric is scheduled to appear in court July 2.
Djuric was not immediately available for comment.
Fish and Wildlife officials say Djuric violated the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act when he beat a Heermann’s gull with a stick New Year’s Eve. Heermann’s gulls are listed under the act.
Djuric – probably a 1st generation immigrant who’s learning a lot about America through this process – says the gull attacked his wife and dropped a gnarly dose of droppings on him while the couple was eating ice cream on Laguna Beach’s Main Beach. The feds disagree, citing busy-body witnesses who say his attack was not defensive in nature because the ice cream had already fallen out of its cone and was on the ground.
Apparently no charges are going to be filed against the vet who euthanized the bird, which came out of the cross-species warfare with a broken wing.
(OOPS: Djuric was prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, not the Endangered Species Act, so whether he hit a Heermann’s gull or a common flying rat is of no consequence. Any ol’ migratory bird is hands-off under the MBTA.)
Posted in Regulatory Madness | 3 Comments » | |
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Comments
May 29th, 2009 at 6:54 am
Seems to me it is the responsibility of the Heerman’s Gull Association, or its affiliated PWGAFFA (people who give a flying fig association) to clearly post all migratory paths and identify clearly within them which birds can and cannot be prosecuted for their crimes against humanity.
May 29th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
But that might take away delicious opportunities to persecute non-believers in the Church of Gaea!
May 29th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I’m not convinced it was necessary to kill the bird. A much higher fine would have been appropriate in my view. But I’d go along with whatever a jury that got all the facts decided.As long as we’re on the subject of fines in the $275 range, complaining about diamond lane violations would be far more productive than ranting about a relatively obscure fine that is rarely imposed.Just sayin’.