Every single federal agency with enforcement powers are *pushing* those
powers, to see what breaks legally, and making sure it won't break again
if it does.
The shadow counterpart of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service is in the
bunker, and Elvis with his gold-plated .45 & FBI badge has left the
building...
USA TODAY
Feds say Maine restaurant must give up 150-year-old stuffed gull
Updated 10/28/2006 2:15 PM ET
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Government agents have served notice on a Camden
restaurant that the stuffed bird that adorned its upstairs dining room
for more than 20 years is illegal.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents, unshaven and clad in camouflage pants
and plaid shirts, arrived Thursday at Cappy's Chowder House to
confiscate the 150-year-old greater black backed gull that is mounted
under glass and surrounded by an ornate frame.
Gulls have been a federally protected species since 1918, and the agents
acted in response to a customer complaint.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act calls for penalties of up to six months in
jail and a $500 fine for possessing a prohibited species, said Eric
Holmes, one of the agents who visited Cappy's. The law makes no
exception for birds acquired before the passage of the treaty act, he said.
The visit was a surprise to Cappy's owner, Johanna Tutone, who said it
never occurred to her that it was illegal to own the stuffed bird she
had bought at the auction of a sea captain's estate. She initially
thought that the two visitors who presented badges and identified
themselves as federal agents were pulling a prank.
"I thought they were joking," she said. "I thought any minute someone
would come up the stairs and say, 'Gotcha!"'
But Tutone quickly realized the two men were serious. They told her she
could keep the frame, but they would return Friday to take the bird,
which would be placed in a government warehouse in Colorado.
"I just knew when I opened the glass it would disintegrate," Tutone
said. "I was devastated to think it was going to get destroyed."
After contacting her attorney, Tutone concluded that the law is not on
her side and she would not win a legal battle. Instead, with the help of
her local legislator and the office of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, she
worked to broker a deal, which is awaiting final approval, to place the
bird in a museum.
She plans to offer it to the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport.
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2006-10-28-maine-gull_x.htm?csp=34#cooliris
