14 THE CA U>D UBIO N eB Us ie eee 
under the Bald Eagle Act there must be evidence of willful intent to kill 
eagles. 
“However, incontrovertible evidence, supported by a confession, that a 
rancher and four employees had killed and poisoned game animals con- 
trary to State law, was obtained. This evidence was turned over to the 
State for prosecution. The five suspects were arrested by the State au- 
thorities. Preceding the day the defendants were to be tried, the principal 
defendant, a local rancher, appeared before the Justice of the Peace in his 
chambers and entered a plea of “no contest” to the charges. The plea was 
accepted and the defendant was fined $674. Because the rancher had 
assumed full and complete responsibility, charges were dismissed against. 
his co-defendants. 
‘During the course of the investigation into the eagle poisoning, a lead 
was developed that eagles had been killed from aircraft, clearly contrary 
to Federal law. Further investigation soon identified some of the persons 
responsible. Shortly thereafter, one of the principals learned that he was 
on the verge of arrest and decided to seek immunity from prosecution in 
return for a complete, detailed confession. Wyoming Senator Gale W. 
McGee arranged for Congressional immunity. This was of material assist- 
ance to the Department of the Interior in expediting the solution of the 
case and culminated in a public hearing depicted in part on TV. 
“Tt is extremely difficult for persons who live in well populated areas to 
understand how such violations could be perpetrated over a period of time 
without detection. The answer lies in the fact that the ranches involved 
encompass tens of thousands of acres, much of it remote from human habi- 
tation. Those who trespass on these ranches are subject to severe penalty 
and, in consequence, outsiders were not aware of what was going on. The 
eagle killing was carried out well inside the borders of the ranches and 
was not observed except by the persons engaged in it. 
“In the American system of criminal justice involving violation of Federal 
law, the decision to prosecute any criminal action rests with the United 
States District Attorney or, in the case of felony, with the Grand Jury. 
The United States Attorney’s discretion to prosecute or not to prosecute 
in misdemeanors is absolute, a decision that is not to be controlled by 
the courts, by law enforcement officers, by an interested individual, or 
by a group of interested individuals who seek redress for wrongs com- 
mitted against them by use of the criminal process. The evidence of vio- 
lations of the Federal Bald Eagle Act has been submitted to the appropriate 
United States Attorneys for their information and subsequent decisions as 
to filing of charges in Federal Court, which may occur in the near future. 
You can be assured that every effort will be made to bring those respon- 
sible to trial and to prevent a recurrence of eagle killing in the future. 
“With respect to animal damage control, the Secretary has appointed a task 
force on predator control. The task force will consider various predator 
control activities in the United States, including the programs conducted 
by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The current questions con- 
cerning these activities will receive careful attention in this review, and 
the task force recommendations will form the basis for considering future 
changes.” 
