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Bartow man charged with killing ospreys
April 26, 2007
Contact: Gary Morse, (863) 648-3200
This time there was no saving Grace from the
long arm of the law. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) officer charged Travis Dale Grace (D.O.B. Oct.
3, 1972), of 810 Willow Lane, Bartow, with shooting and killing
two adult ospreys. The birds of prey were building a nest in a
tree in Grace’s yard. Both birds died from wounds from a
.17-caliber pellet rifle Grace used to shoot them.
Grace told neighbors he shot the birds because
he was annoyed by the sounds the birds made, and he was
concerned the Spanish moss the birds used to line their nest
would kill the trees in his yard.
Ospreys are protected under the Migratory Bird
Treaty Act. FWC Officer Lee Birge charged Grace with two counts
of taking a migratory bird, a second-degree misdemeanor
punishable by a maximum $500 fine and 60 days in jail for each
count. The air rifle Grace used was seized as evidence. The FWC
will seek additional restitution for veterinary services.
Late Thursday, April 19, a neighbor of Grace
called FWC to report an injured bird, which she took to local
wildlife rehabilitator Joan Waters. Waters drove the badly
injured bird to veterinarian Dr. Thomas Schotman in Lake Wales
for treatment. Schotman determined the internal injuries from
the pellets were too severe for the bird to survive. The
veterinarian euthanized the osprey.
While Birge gathered evidence in the first
incident, Grace shot and killed a second osprey early Monday
morning, April 23, over the objection of a neighbor. Bartow
Police and Birge responded to a neighbor’s call. Birge
interviewed Grace, charged him and took him to jail. Grace was
released late Monday on $500 bond.
Both Schotman and Waters have extensive
experience treating injured wildlife. Schotman regularly donates
his services, treating injured wildlife without compensation
since the 1980s. Waters runs a non-profit wildlife
rehabilitation center in Auburndale that subsists entirely on
private donations. The Bartow Fire Department provided a ladder
truck to the FWC to inspect the osprey nest for young or eggs.
None were found.
For more information about protected wildlife,
visit MyFWC.com and click on “wildlife.” |
