Man Arrested For Trying To Sell Dead Hummingbirds
DALLAS, Texas (1080 KRLD) - A Dallas man has admitted to a scheme to catch protected hummingbirds in Mexico, kill them, then bring them to Texas to sell for romantic good luck charms.
53-year old Carlos Rodriguez claimed he caught 31 birds in Mexico and tried to sell them to an undercover agent for $770.
What Rodriguez did is a violation of federal migratory bird laws - and conventions about several species of hummingbirds recognized by the US and Mexico as well as Great Britain, Japan and Russia.
Former federal prosecutor Shamoil Shipchandler says Rodriguez could face two years in federal prison when he's sentenced.
"Anytime you've got a protected species - transportation into or out of the country is going to be something that violates federal law." said Shipchandler.
And this particular case of someone bringing dead hummingbirds to the US for sale surprised Shipchandler. "We've seen turtles, even deer...but not hummingbirds," he said.
No sentencing date has been set.
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