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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 13587
[Animals]
Date Posted:
7/31/2005
7:01:28 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 7,067
RSS: 20,591
Comments: 10
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Eagles Slaughtered For Cherished Parts
Author: Maureen O'Hagan Source: Seattle Times (WA)
Title: EAGLES SLAUGHTERED FOR CHERISHED PARTS
Amy Marie George just couldn't catch her breath.
She had walked this short trail near her house hundreds of times, but on this afternoon in February she had to send her grandchildren ahead to get an old asthma inhaler she hadn't used in more than a year.
"I heard my granddaughter say, 'There's an eagle here,' " recalled George, an elder with the Tsleil-Waututh (SLAY wa-tuth) Nation. "I got such a bad feeling."
Then her grandson Jonas called out. "There's one here!
"And another one here!"
In all, there were 14 dead eagles strewn about the dirt. And it was no accident.
George and her grandchildren had stumbled upon evidence of an international black market, one that fuels the illegal slaughter of an estimated 500 eagles each year in southwest British Columbia alone, and an unknown number in Washington state.
Their discovery brought to at least 50 the total number of dead eagles found between February and March in and around the Tsleil-Wautuths' tiny Indian reserve.
According to wildlife officials in Canada and the U.S., the parts find their way to uses ranging from high-end artwork to wiccan ceremonies. But officials say the biggest demand is at Native American powwows, where feathered regalia can help competitive dancers win thousands of dollars in prizes.
[See also: MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT 16 U.S.C. §§ 703-712, July 3, 1918, as amended 1936, 1960, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1986 and 1989]
Additional Article Link: [Click HERE]
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Community Thoughts: There are 10 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Poach The Poachers | Aug 1st. at 10:45:51 am EDT
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Lady GoldenRaven (New Castle, Michigan) - Email Me
We have our own ways of stopping these poachers, if we would only come together. I am not saying "cast a spell" on them, but we can make it so their guns misfire, their feet fail them when walking to the hunt area, etc. Many things can be done WITHOUT harming the poachers----as much as I would like to send some buckshot up their A$$.
It isn't just the money that drives these poachers, it is the fact they can get away with it and nobody can legally stop them. It is as much a power trip to these guys as anything. Just like any abuser, they have to feel they can control everything which is in their sight. If this means beating on their wife or poaching to get away with it--they will.
I have 2 eagle feathers which were given to me by a Native American friend. These I keep for myself, nobody even touches them.
Is it legal to "poach" these "humans"? It should be. (sarcasm)
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| Poaching Is A Crime-- Not A "right" | Jul 31st. at 6:02:42 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
The only feathers i have ever collected have been freely given by the birds themselves, and, while I am not rebuking others for feather collecting when they can, I personally don't take from dead birds, not only because it is rather unhealthy from time to time, but also because to me, it is a little like robbing the dead of its clothing.
Poaching is poaching, and the people doing it are doing irreparable harm to others for cash-- and that has nothing to do with cultural "rights", but greed, pure and simple. the bad part of this is, that as species diminish, the more money is involved in wiping them out because they have become more rare. Whether it be trafficking in bear and tiger parts or eagle and hawk feathers, it does a grave disservice to all involved.
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| Not Just Raptors | Jul 31st. at 11:25:43 am EDT
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Dee Moonhawk (Florence, Mississippi) - Email Me
It's not just raptor feathers you need to be careful of. If you check on the Migratory Bird Act, most, if not all, of the birds who visit your feeders are listed, thus making it illegal to own feathers and/or parts from them as well.
As a Pagan jewelry maker, I checked into this as I have a collection of 'found' feathers from my back yard. After researching the Migratory Bird Act, NONE of those feathers will ever be used in ritual items or in my jewelry line.
However, as part of my spiritual name is 'hawk', if the Spirit of the Hawk ever drops a feather in my backyard, I'm damned sure gonna keep it - for personal PRIVATE use only, of course.
PS - Don't tel the feds about the 2 vulture feathers I have, taken from a bird killed by a car.
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| Leverage | Jul 31st. at 11:24:43 am EDT
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me
"However, another Canadian law may trump those measures. Under the Canadian constitution, First Nations have a right to wildlife they've traditionally harvested. In B.C., they have used this law mainly to protect their traditional fishing grounds, arguing that some regulations would bar their longstanding food-gathering or cultural practices."
The solution to Eagle Extermination, is that all pow-wows must ban them from Sale or Competion, and Chiefs must make clear that they would sore with the Live Eagles, rather than the murdered ones.
This can be greatly encouraged in Canada, where the laws protect Traditional Harvesting, which does not involve a Rifle, or a Fish Hook.
How many Eagles are being shot down with Wooden Club?
"The Tsleil-Waututh, they explained, are just as outraged as anyone — if not more so. To them, killing and dismembering dozens of eagles is wanton slaughter. Dumping them here made it all the more wrong. It felt as if someone had hurt their children or grandmother, said Leonard George, as if someone were "stomping on your spirit."
What is the future of this religion, if it's adherants can't be respected in their incarnations as Eagles?
Arawn
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| Funny | Jul 31st. at 9:49:48 am EDT
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Silver Faery (Hays, Kansas) - Email Me
Most people I know that practice Shamanism or Wicca (any form of Paganism) use feathers off of birds that they find dead. Very few actually go and kill these animals! Unfortunatly it only takes one or two that do it to give the rest of us a bad name!
I use raven feathers, hawk feathers, ect...all found on the ground from the birds shedding them naturally.
Silver Faery
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| Don't Buy Raptor Feathers Re: Eagles Slaughtered | Jul 31st. at 9:33:23 am EDT
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Mr. Karel Sebek (Kalamazoo, Michigan) - Email Me
It is severely illegal to own or even posess raptor parts without permission, simple posession is a US federal felony. Very heavy fines and prison terms await those that break these laws that were so hard to make.
All raptors are protected in the US, some are so rare that they are endangered. Some species survive only on rez land, outside of it, farmers and 'sportsmen' shoot them all thinking them to be vermin out to kill their chickens or 'for fun'. Remember that extinction is forever.
If you are offered eagle feathers or other raptor parts in Ceremony, make sure you know the gifter personally before you accept. If you have questions in your mind about the source of the feathers, gently decline with an "I'm not worthy of this honor right now" approach and be firm about it. Accepting or using wrongly killed raptor feathers is not only illegal but also dishonors yourself, the Ceremony, and the spirit of the raptor that died.
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