The hunters stand, holding their rifles, in front of their kill: birds, by the hundreds. The photo from the U.S. attorney’s office shows the animals lined up, carcass after carcass, some with wings protruding. The 258 snow geese and white-fronted geese were protected birds, officials say.
Now the Northern California man who organized and participated in the 2018 goose hunt has been sentenced. His penalties: a $1,000 fine and a three-year hunting ban.
Carlos T. Ortiz and nine other hunters shot and killed the geese near California’s Sutter National Wildlife Refuge, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney.
Snow geese and white-fronted geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, an international treaty that prohibits the killing, capture, sale, trade or transportation of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.