Travis John Bronson, 49, a resident of Washington state, was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison, along with three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $777,250 in restitution after being sentenced to charges related to conspiring to hunt and kill protected birds, including bald eagles, golden eagles and hawks on the Flathead Indian Reservation. This amount equals approximately $5,000 for each eagle killed and $1,750 for each hawk.
Bronson, originally from the Flathead Indian Reservation, pled guilty of conspiracy, two counts of illegal trafficking of eagle feathers and violating the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act is a federal law that bans the interstate trade of wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of federal or state laws. The law also prohibits the creation of false records or labels for wildlife intended for interstate or foreign commerce.
Between Jan. 2015 and March 2021, Bronson, working alongside Simon Paul, 42, participated in the killing of over 3,600 birds in and around the Reservation. They trafficked bird parts including feathers, wings and tails for substantial sums of money, both within the United States and internationally.
The indictment suggests that Bronson and Paul’s actions are part of a larger black market for eagle feathers and body parts that targets demand from Native American communities for use in ceremonial and religious practices.
The U.S. government has tried to lower the demand for feathers by providing them to Native American Reservations free of cost from a government repository, but the repository has been unable to keep up with demand and has a backlog of several years.
Under current regulations, federally recognized tribes can apply for permits through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to legally take a bald or golden eagle for religious purposes. Enrolled tribal members can also request feathers and other bird parts from the National Eagle Repository or from non-government repositories located in Oklahoma and Arizona.
At the time of publication, Paul is still at large. A federal judge issued an arrest warrant for Paul in December after he failed to show up for an initial court hearing. Court documents suggest he has fled to Canada.
