"Two men were indicted by a federal grand jury in Montana on Friday on allegations they illegally killed 3,600 birds, including bald and golden eagles on the Flathead Indian Reservation, then illegally sold the eagles on the black market.

Simon Paul and Travis John Branson were each indicted on one count of conspiracy, multiple counts of unlawful trafficking of bald and golden eagles, and one count of violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking of unlawfully taken wildlife.

Investigators found messages from Branson in which he talked about killing eagles, saying he was “on a killing spree” to capture eagle feathers and at one point told someone he was “out [here] committing felonies,” according to the indictment.

According to the indictment, the two men “and others” hunted and killed thousands of birds on Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes lands and other locations, and sold parts of several eagles on the black market “for significant sums of cash across the United States and elsewhere.”"

Blair Miller reports for States Newsroom Dec 11, 2023. [2]