EPA Reaches Settlement on Quail Hunting

Las Vegas Sun ^ | 10/27/03 | AP

[Tumbleweed_Connection]

ATLANTA (AP) - The federal government has reached a settlement with the owners of several Georgia quail-hunting plantations accused of using a powerful pesticide to kill wild animals that eat quail eggs. Details of the settlement will be announced later this week, said Carl Terry, an Environmental Protection Agency spokesman. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted a source as saying the penalty will exceed $300,000.

Some of the plantations had faced millions of dollars in potential fines for allegedly setting out chicken eggs laced with the pesticide Furadan to kill foxes, raccoons, possums, skunks and other animals that prey on quail eggs. As an unintentional result, the poisoned animals then became poisoned bait themselves, attracting and killing alligators, songbirds, snakes, bald eagles, hawks, vultures and other creatures.

The EPA wouldn't name the plantations, though investigations in 1999 found evidence of illegal poisoning on at least 16 plantations.

Joe Tanner, director of Heritage and Conservation Wildlife, a group composed of quail plantation owners, said the owners involved are committed to "responsible and sound conservation and wildlife management practice" and pledged that there will be no more pesticide misuse on their land.

State and federal investigations into the poisoning began in 1998, when dogs belonging to raccoon hunters in southwest Georgia died after apparently ingesting Furadan. Investigators later tracked the poison to the chicken eggs.

Although investigators found evidence of wildlife poisoning on 16 plantations, only four of them - Kolomoki near Blakely, Albemarle and Ecila near Albany, and Nochaway in Leary - were required to pay several thousand dollars in fines to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which had been given the authority to enforce the cases by the EPA under the guidelines of the pesticide law.

Last year, the EPA announced that it was reopening the cases against the plantations - including the ones that were fined - saying the violations warranted stiffer fines and that the penalties had been insufficient to deter further illegal wildlife poisoning.

Plantation owners have said reopening the cases amounted to government harassment.

[farmfriend]

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[Hugin]

They would have their property seized and go to prison most likely.

[Nov3]

I like technical di-syston myself

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[hattend]

Last year, the EPA announced that it was reopening the cases against the plantations - including the ones that were fined - saying the violations warranted stiffer fines and that the penalties had been insufficient to deter further illegal wildlife poisoning.

Did they continue to set out the poisoned bait or did they stop?

If they stopped, it's harrassment and the EPA is trying to up the "protection" money take. Guess they don't need to break your kneecaps when they can just seize your property.

[metesky]

Although investigators found evidence of wildlife poisoning on 16 plantations, only four of them - Kolomoki near Blakely, Albemarle and Ecila near Albany, and Nochaway in Leary - were required to pay several thousand dollars in fines to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, which had been given the authority to enforce the cases by the EPA under the guidelines of the pesticide law.

The curse of the FDR Supreme Court continues. Our Fed lawmakers can now point the finger at the alphabet agencies and the alphabet agencies in turn hand off to the states.

This is disgusting.

[TalBlack]

Starting in the 1840's large cemeteries were fenced off from the rest of New York City and to this day you can find Turkey, Pheseant and Quail skulking around inside them. A guy I know killed a Pheseant and cooked it, said it was excellent! There are also rabbits like you don't believe, but since the Falcons, released in the 80's, have almost eradicated the cemetery pigeon flocks the rabbits aren't long for this world. I wonder if the Gov't even knows of these animals or considers them endangered?

[metesky]

The pheasant and the pigeons are both non-native species, so the greens and environment bureaucrats couldn't care less.