Skylar Capo, 11, rescued a baby woodpecker - which is endangered - from a cat.
Posted on 08/03/2011 7:14:41 AM PDT by JoeProBono
FREDERICKSBURG, Va., - A Virginia woman said she feels "harassed and angry" after being slapped with a $535 fine after her daughter rescued a baby woodpecker from a cat.
Alison Capo of Fredericksburg said her daughter, Skylar, 11, saved the bird from a cat in her father's backyard and she agreed to take the bird home to make sure it was not seriously injured, WUSA-TV, Washington, reported Tuesday.
Capo said she and Skylar stopped at a Lowe's on the way home and brought the bird into the home improvement store because of the heat. She said a woman inside the store confronted her and identified herself as an officer with the Virginia Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Capo said the woman told her taking or transporting the baby woodpecker is illegal because the species is protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Act.
The mother said she released the bird as soon as she arrived home and reported the incident to the department, but she encountered the same woman about two weeks later when she showed up at her front door with a Virginia State Police trooper.
Capo said she was fined $535 and cited for unlawfully taking a migratory bird, which can carry a jail sentence of up to a year.
"I feel harassed and I feel angry," Capo said.
Skylar Capo, 11, rescued a baby woodpecker - which is endangered - from a cat.
No good goes unpunished.
They should have doubled the fine because she named her daughter Skylar.
They should lock that criminal up. She should be grateful that her fine was only $535. An obvious delinquent on her way to a life of crime.
OK, men, there's someone who rescued a baby bird in here, so shoot first and ask questions later. If there's a dog, shoot it.
And if the baby bird is in here, shoot it, too.
When confronted with an EPA endangered species, the preferred solution is to “shoot, shovel and shut up.” This makes the EPA nazis happy because it assures that that species will remain endangered so they can keep their federal government checks coming. The harassment of U.S. citizens is just icing on their cake.
Quite a system.
No good deed goes unpunished!
Caddis
“A new law always sounds like a ‘good idea’ until the first time you have to enforce it”. - Unknown
Now here’s the problem....Unless they have a picture of the woodpecker, there is only speculation. Anyone who thinks all these wildlife folks know their birds is kidding themselves.
So, we should let a cat eat whatever animal they want. I feel sorry for this girl. As a kid, I “saved” chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and baby rabbits from cats. Yes... I even kept them for a day or two before releasing them. Oops... I am hoping there is a statue of limitations over such vile acts! (If not, everyone knows my name is Joe Pro Bono. LOL)
Easy there, everyone. 2.4 Trillion is a lot of dollars to spend in 18 months. Gotta make sure everyone is on the job.
The Fish and Game gal can be charged with wanting them to catch a bird so she could eat it.
There are a gazillion things that you can do with this one besides demanding a jury trial ~ in federal court. That'll take 10 years to get on the docket.
In the end, the Wildlife folks sent a letter of apology. NO FINE!!
But the same officer wouldn’t dream of fining a windmill owner for all the carcasses of dead migratory birds on the ground beneath them.
Who knew Woodpeckers are endangered? They’re all over GA. I had one that for some reason thought the metal vent on the top of my fireplace was a tree. The daggum bird would peck on it all day long and it would echo through the fireplace!
Save my woodie!
Looks like a lazy-assed bird, if you ask me. Can even bother to stand on its own two feet. No wonder it’s going extinct.
Hey, Woody! The grubs and larva ain’t gonna fall outta the sky and into your beak, you shiftless peckerwood. Get your sexually dimorphic ass off that branch and get to work!
Search up “Peggy Ann Bargon” to see what happens when you send a dreamcatcher to Hillary Clinton.
Migratory Bird Act and Lacey act and one or two others.
If you walk in the forest and pick up a hawk or owl feather and transport it, you commit a felony.
Poor Skylar, they taught her in school that she lived in the land of the free, where we have liberty.
woodpeckers legs are designed for hanging on to trees, not walking on the ground,accounting for the slouch.
Thats what I thought yesterday reading the same story,,, where’s the evidence?
It’s just another Fed, doing what they do best,i.e.; screwing things up for the citizens of our country.
Just as I expected — always waiting for a handout!
My boys were always bringing animals or snakes home. One time they found a baby bird. We fed it with an eye dropper, it lived and when it’s feathers came in we saw it was a Cardinal. We had it for weeks and it was getting to the point of being released. My neighbor came over with her kids for the big day. We had 5 kids under the age of 8 watching as the bird flew out of the aquarium, flittered around, etc. The amazing thing was that other Cardinals came as well.......a National Geographic moment.......an out of nowhere a cat came around the corner and killed the bird! My son jumped off the deck, grabbed the cat the neck and shook it until it dropped the bird and then we had a bird funeral.
Link to yesterday’s thread below. The citation was dismissed after the publicity. Before then, F&WS sent a VA trooper with the agent to her home to issue the citation, which she did not sign. After that, a warrant was issued for her to appear in court. BTW, UPI has it wrong: According to the original story, the agency involved was the US Fish and Wildlife Service, not the VA Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2757566/posts
And that wildlife lady?? She actually contributed to the "crime" by letting the little girl walk away with the "supposed" woodpecker.
But enter this country illegaly and you get food stamps and tuition and all kinds of help from the Democr...err Government.
Now the question I have, is how did Debbie Doright know who the mother was and where she lived. Did the mother give Debbie her name and address during the store encounter (If so, she was stupid for not just making something up (I'm Nancy Pelosi and live in Washington, DC.) or did Debbie get her license plate number and track her down that way. Secondly, the response when Debbie came to the door with the Sherriff should have been, "Bird? Woodpecker? Hardware store? I vaguely remember a few weeks ago having my friends parekeet in a hardware store and some crazy women who fancied herself an wildlife expert thought it was some endangered woodpecker. Then stuck with that story if it went to court.
Ahh another greeny soon to be conservative. By the way, What do you do if you see one endangered animal eating another?
“... then we had a bird funeral”.
I am sorry... I had to laugh because my parent’s backyard looked like something out of “Pet Semetary”. Little crosses made out of popsicle sticks everywhere. Birds, rabbits, squirrels, turtles.... I “officiated” at the funeral. Granted, my parents were good sports but children have a natural desire to help injured critters. (IMHO). Your son is a good kid and the sight of him shaking the cat by the neck is funny (not then but now). Thanks!
As long as they stay in the trees, they’re fine. But start pecking on my house? That’s why I stow a pellet rifle in the shed. And sometimes, if I just wing ‘em, the cat gets a bonus.
Unfortunately, the citation was processed unintentionally despite our office's request to cancel the ticket. The Service has contacted Ms. Capo to express our regret. The Service is also sending Ms. Capo a formal letter explain the clerical error and confirming that ticket should never have been issued.
Lol! Just a simple misunderstanding. I'm sure all this bad publicity and the hordes of phone calls they've been getting had NOTHING to do with this quick reversal.
Just how many of these EPA nazis are we taking about... ;>
Synopsis (from Gannett restricted site):
Eleven-year old girl saves baby woodpecker from being eaten by family cat at Dad’s house. Mother puts woodpecker in cage to take to her home to make sure it’s o.k. On way home, brought into store out of sun. Female US Fish and Wildlife agent shopping there shows badge, confronts mother about violation of migratory bird act and takes name. Mother releases bird when she arrives home and notifies F&WS.
Two weeks later agent shows up with VA state trooper at home to issue citation. Mother refuses to sign and is issued court warrant.
Update: According to the website, F&WS this p.m. now says its all a big mistake and citation should never have been issued and is sending an apology.
Your federal government at work.
The woodpecker caper was thwarted by government peckerheads.
LOL....actually it’s not to funny :( seems this is the road we are now on. When you start hearing about kids lemon-aid stands being closed, anything is possible.
The mother was foolish enough to call the Virgina Dept. of Fish & Wildlife to report the incident. The article doesn't say whether she called to inquire about the officer's comments or simply to vent, but that seems to be how they found her to issue the fine.
The real cure for such abuses is to defund and shut down the agencies involved with “Endangered Species Act” enforcement and repeal of the laws which allow such abuses to be heaped upon the innocent.
Hell, birds don’t even have rights to freedom anymore. Much less the right to be rescued from a cat and be released upon attaining the ability to feed and defend themselves. ONly the GOVERNMENT has the right to protect and defend the innocent? When did that happen? Was the bird on federal land?
I’m glad they had sense enough to apologize and void their stupid citation! Someone needs to fire, or best yet arrest that commie who tried to confiscate money from a US citizen.
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