# Whooping Cranes shot



## Eric Hustad (Feb 25, 2002)

You have got to be kidding me. What kind of sentence should these "hunters" get???

WICHITA, Kansas (AP) -- Two of the world's roughly 500 whooping cranes were shot by a group of hunters who said they mistook the endangered birds for sandhill cranes, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent said.

Farmers found the injured cranes Saturday near the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Kansas. One crane died Wednesday; the other is still recovering.

Charges have not been filed against the seven hunters, and authorities won't release their names until the U.S. Attorney's office reviews the case, said wildlife agent Kenny Kessler.

Killing a whooping crane could lead to a sentence of up to a one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The hunters said they thought the birds were sandhills when they opened fire on the first day of goose and sandhill crane season. They said they believed the birds would survive after watching them fly off.

The cranes were part of a flock of about 230 that migrates from Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast each winter.


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## Decoyer (Mar 2, 2002)

Well if it really was an honest mistake then I don't think they should throw them in prison or anything. I mean, common, this is an animal. Give them a good fine and be done with it. They should have known better but you can't regulate stupidity.


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## Eric Hustad (Feb 25, 2002)

I agree with no prison, but I'd nail them on a fine and loss of license for years. With only 500 birds left what happens if this happens some more?? Do seasons get closed???


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Stupidity can not be used as a defense in court, why should these guys get any reduced sentence because they are stupid? Sorry but IMO they should have the book thrown at them.

How can you mistake a Whooper for a sandhill?

Bob


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## Jimr (Nov 5, 2004)

^Whooping crane...

VVVVV Sandhill










Comon now, Iam stupid lol but not that stupid...
unless they were incredilby far away then they should be glassing anyways :roll:

i say Give them a FINE and a suspended license...they were probably shottin them and they just happened to escape their sh^tty aiming ability ...


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## Militant_Tiger (Feb 23, 2004)

I propose that they are both shot in the legs, and told that they were mistaken for poachers :lol:


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## tb (Jul 26, 2002)

I think a guy shot one last year in Texas. If I recall, he got a pretty hefty fine, something well into 5 figures.


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## Jimr (Nov 5, 2004)

Militant_Tiger said:


> I propose that they are both shot in the legs, and told that they were mistaken for poachers :lol:


Ilike that idea too ..

with a count of 500 left in a certian sort of specias your hunting iam sure id be pretty certian that it was the kind iam looking for and not a Whooping crane before i pulled any triggers:s :roll:


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## fishunt (Jan 24, 2004)

that is wrong... if not sure which one is it then dont shoot let them go and whooper crane is mostly white and sandhill crane dark gray easy to tell they dont fly fast .. simple if u not sure DONT SHOOT!! LET THEM GOO!!! :eyeroll:


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

That's almost as bad as all the guys who shoot trumpeters and claim they thought they were snow geese. :roll:


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

I say fine the heck out of them, take away their licenses for more than 1 year, but don't give jail time. I don't want tax dollars going to waste putting them in prison. Just fine them HEAVILY !!!!!


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

I thought to be safe you should always decline from shooting if you are not positive about what it is. I hunt deer every year, but this year I got a second tag in 3B3 for antlerless whitetail and I passed on a couple because I couldn't tell for sure (light, distance, angle). And they didn't move fast enought to hop!


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## Anas Strepera (Nov 10, 2004)

That is really too bad. :eyeroll:


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## Ithaca1 (Nov 24, 2003)

Cuff them and Stuff them. I have had the opportunity to view Whooping Cranes in the wild and there is no doubt what they are especially the adults. USFW should set an example that stupidty is no excuse for negligance of the law. By the way good pics. I took some this fall but the distance was too far to really look good.


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## Niles Short (Mar 18, 2004)

Another bad deal.. dont know what the solution should be. However there must be stricter penalties. Sounds like these birds were even out of range (where if they still dont know the difference they could maybe identify at closer range) since they 'let them fly off'....?? What the hell does that mean?? something sounded goofy in that passage


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