Trey Joseph Frederick, a teen hunter in Beaumont, TX admitted to killing two whooping cranes on January 10th. Under the Migratory Bird Act, killing a whooping crane is punishable by up to 6 months in jail or a fine of $15,000.
On January 11th, the Texas Game Warden’s office got a phone call about two dead whooping cranes that had been found along Blair Road in Jefferson County. Trey admitted to the police that he had killed the cranes while out hunting for geese.
Whooping cranes are listed by the Federal Register as an endangered species. Although this is purely speculation, more than likely the teen who was raised around hunting and guns knew that what he was shooting weren’t geese. I’d take it a step further and say he probably knew what they were. As much as gun safety activists love to harp about gun control, you’ll find that hunters like Trey who grew up around the sport are well-versed about the different animals and species.
That being said, in no way shape or form should Trey be sent to jail for six months for this crime.
In a series of Facebook messages, Trey stated that, “Haven’t slept in 2 days got me so messed up!!” He also stated that “I’m just praying for a miracle honestly” and finally “I really screwed up this time.”
Give him community service (which the judge will probably do), scare the piss out of him, and consider it time served.
