No, whooping cranes are not what’s for dinner, as seven Kansas hunters learned the hard way. The seven, who admitted shooting and killing two of the rare whoopers last year during legal sandhill crane season, received their sentences last week, including a $3,000 fine each and loss of hunting privileges for two years.
The hunters got off fairly easy — under law, they could have been fined up to $15,000 and jailed for six months.
Although the men didn’t deserve jail time, a higher fine would have sent a stronger message that these rare birds are extremely valuable natural resources.
To prevent this from happening again, the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission in August made some appropriate changes in the sandhill season, moving the daily start time to 30 minutes after sunrise to avoid low-light confusion, and moving the opening date back four days.
It’s a pretty good start on a compromise solution. The commission should still consider closing the sandhill season in state wildlife areas where whooping cranes nest, most notably in Cheyenne Bottoms nears Great Bend.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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11 Comments
All this fuss and bother, and I still haven’t seen anything to help me identify a whooping crane from a sand hill crane.
Beats me why anyone would want to shoot a sandhill crane, anyway. They are gorgeous, especially in flight.
Hunters got off easy? I bet it was an accident and plus 6 months in jail is pretty long for dead bird.
Now! If they were trying to hunt them, then stuff then, and sell the stuff bird on the black market for the purpose of making the bird extinct as to drive up the cost of the stuff bird, now I can see that being a crime worth putting in jail for.
The basic problem is that the Kansas Wildlife and Parks Commission is being asked to regulate a group upon whom it depends for revenue – i.e. hunters. The situation would be analogous to asking Bush/Cheney to oversee energy companies – not a good mix, or a good idea.
Do they (the birds, not the hunters) taste like chicken?
No JM, they taste more like goat, but they’re good with a little barbeque sauce.
There are “Hunters.” and I use the term loosely, that will shoot nearly anything, on sight, JUST, because they can. Chances of being caught are probably pretty slim.
If you’re gonna hunt, you should know what you’re shooting at. Don’t know for sure?–Don’t shoot!
Make a mistake, YOU pay the price!
These guys got off,—-EASY!!
There’s no excuse for firing at a bird when you’re unsure what species it is.
BTW, I was driving down the road yesterday and a white crane flew in front of me (it did not get hit). What a beautiful bird!
Who in their right mind would want to shoot any kind of crane? It’s insane! Get a camera!
Why the hell would anyone want to shoot a crane? I’ve never heard of roasted crane or crane stew. They can’t even be a challenge to shoot because they fly so slow.
Considering that it costs somewhere near $80,000 in donations and sponsor support and grants to hatch, raise and train a young Whooping crane to be a part of the new Eastern Introduced flock that Operation Migration has been doing for the last 6 years, and that the state of Texas values a Whooper at around $5200, these guys DID get off easy! Both birds were found alive, but died in spite of the efforts of nearby university vet med staff to save them. Both birds were males.
Indeed, if you are a hunter and DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SHOOTING AT, simply DON’T SHOOT! It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know this!
I took the licensing test that the state of Kansas gives to hunters… it is almost impossible to discern a gray bird from a WHITE bird after sunset or near sunrise! The light just doesn’t make it easy! And they know this, but the state makes big $$ from licenses!
They should ban such hunts in the flyway areas where Whooping cranes are known to pass, and give the poor Sandhills a break!
Extinction is FOREVER, and there are still less than 215 wild Whoopers alive in the world today!
Find your sport somewhere else!
If you are a Whooper or crane fan, check out what is happening on Whooper Happenings (podcast) at: http://whitebirds.libsyn.org .
Some of us give too much in support and resources to want this sort of waste to those few rare birds that remain!
Mankind killed off the billions of Passenger Pigeons that once flew all over North America! It was a classic case of man’s greed and stupidity! Support for those birds came way too late, and no one since nearly a century ago has even seen a living Passenger nor ever will again!
Think… extinction is FOREVER!
Well said Mark Chenowith! As one who knows first-hand the blood, sweat, and yes, even tears that go into raising, and reintroducing these endangered birds; I am furious that these hunters got off as easy as they did.
Here’s a thought: In an attempt to right a wrong – why doesn’t the State of Kansas (and others) increase the fines and contribute the dollars collected to the Whooping crane reintrodution project. That is IF they ever collect the $$ …