A man from Humble, Texas, U.S., pled guilty to purchasing tails and sets of feathers from illegally killed bald and golden eagles, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Montana.<\/p>\n
John Patrick Butler, 71, was sentenced May 5 to five years of probation and ordered to pay $77,500 in restitution.<\/p>\n
The bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) were killed on and around Montana\u2019s Flathead Indian Reservation, the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office said<\/p>\n
Another man, Travis John Branson, was convicted of killing the eagles and sending their body parts to Butler. In October 2024, Branson was sentenced to nearly four years in prison followed by three years of probation, and ordered to pay $777,250 in restitution, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Montana.<\/p>\n
A co-defendant accused of killing the birds, Simon Paul, is still at large, according to the release<\/p>\n
Branson sent the eagle parts to Butler in Texas through the mail. Postal records, along with text messages organizing the sales, lead to Butler\u2019s conviction on conspiracy, unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles and purchasing illegally killed eagle parts in violation of the Lacey Act.<\/p>\n
Branson openly discussed illegally killing eagles in text messages, \u201cout [here] committing felonies,\u201d he said as he hunted the eagles, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office He reportedly killed at least 118 eagles and 107 hawks and made as much as $360,000 doing it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to feel the impacts of the Flathead Reservation\u2019s raptor loss for years to come,\u201d said Mike Dolson, chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in a statement in 2024. \u201cWe hope this helps put a stop to illegal poaching on our homelands and gives these birds a chance to recover. Eagles are not only a treasured and important part of the Reservation\u2019s ecosystem, but they also have a profound place in CSKT cultural and spiritual practices.\u201d<\/p>\n