***REWARD!***Endangered whooping cranes were shot
AfSD™(ADVOCATE FOR SAVING DOGS™and all living creatures)
Wildlife..
US Fish and Wildlife Service Offers $12,500 reward for information
January 2011: Preliminary tests on three dead cranes found at the end of last year conclude that the endangered birds were shot.
Wildlife scientists at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, have concluded through preliminary testing the cranes found dead near Albany, Georgia, on Dec. 30, 2010, sustained injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
The cranes were killed sometime before December 30, 2010 and were discovered and reported by hunters. This was the crane’s first migration. They were banded and equipped with transmitters.The three cranes, 20-10, 24-10, and 28-10, were part of a group of five 2010 Direct Autumn Release (DAR) cranes. According to Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership trackers, they had last been tracked in Hamilton County, Tennessee, where they roosted on December 10, 2010, with three other.
Birds were part of a reintroduction programme
The cranes are part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership effort to reintroduce whooping cranes into the eastern United States. There are about 570 whooping cranes left in the world, 400 in the wild. About 100 cranes are in the eastern migratory population.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents are leading a joint investigation with Georgia Department of Natural Resources conservation rangers and are now offering a $12,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of those responsible.
A number of organisations are contributing to the fund, including the US Fish and Wildlife Service itself, the Humane Society of America and the International Crane Foundation. The reward of up to $12,500 will be provided to the person or people who provide information leading to an arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrator(s).
In addition to the Endangered Species Act, whooping cranes are protected by state laws and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Any information concerning the deaths of these cranes should be provided to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Terry Hasting at 404-763-7959 and/or Georgia Department of Natural Resources 24hr. TIP Hotline at 1-800-241-4113.
