Woodpecker-saving daughter gets $535 fine.

[terps]

A woman in Fredericksburg is facing a $535 fine and possible jail time all because her daughter tried to save a baby woodpecker.

http://wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=1090121205001&odyssey=mod|tvideo|article

Your government at work.

[laborelch]

sad. very sad.

[Sean Buehrle]

Doesn't surprise me.

Gone are the days of a kid taking an animal home.

Too many rules.


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[LizStreithorst]

Surely it will be thrown out of court. Just the fact that these people have to take time from their lives to go to court is a shame. Fish and Wildlife owes them a huge apology and should make amends by helping the little girl pursue her kind hearted passion for caring for animals. I'm sure that after the piece on the TV they are taking a huge amount of heat from local folks. I'd like to hear how this one turns out.

[DLock3d]

Pathetic, clearly there was a misunderstanding. It's a shame the individual at Lowes can't be revealed and ostracized for her actions.

[YSS]

They said at the end of the video that the baby bird flew away. If it did, I wonder how the girl was able to catch the bird so easily in the first place to save the bird. Law is law. Law is there to protect the environment, and if you break it, intentionally or not, there are consequences.

If the girl and the mom are telling the truth, I hope the judge dismissed the case, but you can't always believe what people tell you. If that's the case, then there would not be a single guilty criminal. But I am innocent your honor ..... I have no idea how my finger prints ended up there officer ....

[Northwoods Discus]

It does seem silly that some one would pick on a kid with a baby bird. Most DNR officers would probably just warn the people that it is illegal to possess wildlife and advise to release the animal. Must have been a bad day for this officer. A lot of young officers feel the need to enforce to the letter instead of using a little common sense. I know, I know they should not decide what is right and wrong that is for the judge.
I have a good friend that is a retired DNR officer. He has had to deal with people having fawns tied in the yard. Also people selling wildlife such as snakes and turtles. That is how species can get in trouble.
You can see this both ways.
Bill

[calihawker]

There's just no grey area when it comes to the law. I was walking through a parking lot the other day and noticed some hawk feathers on a cars dash board. I told my wife they better be native American or a falconer because It's a federal offense to possess them otherwise but unlike the person in the story, I'm gonna mind my own business.

Steve

[terps]

The Fish and Wildlife Service cancelled the citation after a huge public outcry when the story went public. They issued a typical CYA statement.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2021631/Girl-saves-woodpecker-Wildlife-agency-apologises-fining-Skylar-Capos-mother-535.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

[YSS]

You get kids involved and you can get away from anything in this country. I hope this wasn't the case.

[gravjack]

Okay, the law is the law. However, I have a couple of problems with this besides what has been mentioned. I know a woodpecker is a protected species (as are most songbirds), but under the Migratory Bird Act doesn't make sense. Last I knew, most of them don't migrate very far. When they put the common crow under that statute, they pretty much guaranteed a population explosion which could be detrimental to other covered species (i.e. ducks). Also from 40 years experience playing CYA I also know that the law enforcer who does not take individual case facts under consideration at the time they start an action is going to do a lot more of it. They may keep his/her identity from us, but I'll bet the boss knows who they are.

John

[brewmaster15]

Thats pathetic....Who ever that Fish and wild life person was should be taken to task by their superiors...not because she was enforcing a law...but because she obviously has no clue how to deal with situation. I suspect the person has issues.

What should have happened was this..

F&W officer sees girl with baby woodpecker... F&W officer commends child for caring and gently advises what girl should have done ( ex...provide names of certified wildlife rehabilitators) , F&W officer should have taken woodpecker to give it proper care... End of story... given the woodpecker is protected, that officer should have taken the bird...not let the family leave with it....for that alone . the officer should should be reprimanded... instead she shows up 2 weeks latter with a state trooper and summons...thats pure BS.

Its not a problem with laws its a problem with how they are being enforced...Protection of the birds is important...I can't tell from the pic what species of woodpecker it was and they don't say...but there are several species that are critically endangered...it looks alot like a red -cockaded woodpecker...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-cockaded_woodpecker...no idea if it was, but so many related juvenile birds look similar.

-al

[DonMD]

Speaking of endangered woodpeckers, I haven't seen any pileated woodpeckers in my back yard for a few years now. They used to come to my feeder out the kitchen window in the back - ergo my icon.

[YSS]

Speaking of endangered woodpeckers, I haven't seen any pileated woodpeckers in my back yard for a few years now. They used to come to my feeder out the kitchen window in the back - ergo my icon.

I still see woodpeckers in my backyard. Don't know what kind though...

[korbi_doc]

COMMON SENSE? I think that went out the window too many years ago!! Just look around you at what's happenin' today, JMO....

Dottie


Bill's quote:

"A lot of young officers feel the need to enforce to the letter instead of using a little common sense"

[Darrell Ward]

Thats pathetic....Who ever that Fish and wild life person was should be taken to task by their superiors...not because she was enforcing a law...but because she obviously has no clue how to deal with situation. I suspect the person has issues.

What should have happened was this..

F&W officer sees girl with baby woodpecker... F&W officer commends child for caring and gently advises what girl should have done ( ex...provide names of certified wildlife rehabilitators) , F&W officer should have taken woodpecker to give it proper care... End of story... given the woodpecker is protected, that officer should have taken the bird...not let the family leave with it....for that alone . the officer should should be reprimanded... instead she shows up 2 weeks latter with a state trooper and summons...thats pure BS.

Its not a problem with laws its a problem with how they are being enforced...Protection of the birds is important...I can't tell from the pic what species of woodpecker it was and they don't say...but there are several species that are critically endangered...it looks alot like a red -cockaded woodpecker...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-cockaded_woodpecker...no idea if it was, but so many related juvenile birds look similar.

-al

Well said. The laws are there to protect wildlife, but at the same time those enforcing the laws should have the people skills to correctly handle different situations. Sadly, in an era of budget cutting, and political games, the best people are no longer vetted or trained properly for certain jobs, and we end up with people of questionable judgement enforcing the law. This kind of thing then get publicized by people promoting their own interests as to why all regulation is bad.

[Northwoods Discus]

Don
My wife and I saw a whole group of juvenile pileated woodpeckers in our woods. We hear and see them often. Sounds like the amazon.

[Darrell Ward]

It's been a long time since I've seen a woodpecker, but I hear them pecking away in the woods behind our house all the time.

[DonMD]

Don
My wife and I saw a whole group of juvenile pileated woodpeckers in our woods. We hear and see them often. Sounds like the amazon.

Yeah, I know what you mean about their sound, it's primeval. Maybe their territory has just moved north?

[Second Hand Pat]

Well said. The laws are there to protect wildlife, but at the same time those enforcing the laws should have the people skills to correctly handle different situations. Sadly, in an era of budget cutting, and political games, the best people are no longer vetted or trained properly for certain jobs, and we end up with people of questionable judgement enforcing the law. This kind of thing then get publicized by people promoting their own interests as to why all regulation is bad.

This person missed a awesome opportunity to mentor and teach this young girl in better ways of handling or not handling wildlife and the purpose of such laws leaving this young person with a positive, meaningful experience. Bad form.

[Darrell Ward]

Absolutly.

[Sean Buehrle]

This person missed a awesome opportunity to mentor and teach this young girl in better ways of handling or not handling wildlife and the purpose of such laws leaving this young person with a positive, meaningful experience. Bad form.

It's just un-American.

When I was growing up there was a kids being kids mentality, it was the American way. You could walk down the street to your friends house in the middle of day with your bb gun without the entire police force mobbing you and acting like you committed a capital crime.

In the city I grew up in, it is a crime to be in public without a state issued ID card , you can be held in custody for it. It kinda reminds me of Pre ww2 Nazi Germany.

I love this country but it's nothing like it was 30 years ago.

Those days are long gone.


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[Second Hand Pat]

True Sean, very sad

[Darrell Ward]

Depends on where you live I guess. We live between 2 small towns, miles away from either, and no one bothers us out here, surrounded by woods and wildlife. I love it. My oldest daughter lives in Charlotte. I love her, but when I go there to visit, I can't wait to get back home.