Well you have to read this yourself.
11-year-old saves baby bird’s life, gets fined $535
This is one of those stories that make you wonder what ever happen to common sense. Look I have nothing but respect for law enforcement including U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service they all have an incredibly tough job. But some times the law agencies gets little over zealous and seem to lose their common sense when dealing with people.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service claims it to be a clerical error and that the agent and State Trooper “had gone to inquire about the health of the woodpecker. At that point, they determined that no further action was necessary.” See I don’t think the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would have sent a State Trooper with the agent if it was a simple inquiry. State Troopers are usually sent along as back up if they are serving citations or warrants because of the chance of possible violence. So to me it’s obvious the were told to serve a citation. Now I don’t know who wrote up the citation whether it was the agent they ran into or when they called in to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to report the incident and the release. Why the agent didn’t take the citation the her superiors and explained?
But what is really sad is how events like this could affect and young girl and her trust in the system.
This also reminds me of other incidents as such the story of a 10-year old girl brought her lunch to school and a small kitchen knife to cut it.
Or the story of the 12-year old Girl Arrested for Doodling.
Each of these incidents were over reactions and a lack of common sense but what affects could these have on these children when it comes to trusting authority, law enforcement and the system of justice we like to believe in?
Incidents like these only end up embarrassing law enforcement agencies, an embarrassments that could have been avoided with a little common sense.
UR
1 comment:
The laws protecting migratory birds were started at the turn of the 20th century. Many species were almost hunted to extinction to provide feathers for the hat industry. The laws remain on the books as federal statutes because, well, migratory birds don't recognize state lines.
The system was intended to deal with people who would poach and traffic in them or who conduct operations that could potentially injure or kill many birds, such as improper chemical spraying of fields.
Unfortunately, we have entered an age where the LETTER of the law, not the SPIRIT of the law is being applied. Many bureaucrats are terrified of being cited for failure to carry out their duties. Auditors and legal eagles regularly take government employees to task for missing some point of policy. Sometimes that is needed, but when overdone, it stifles creativity the ability of an employee to think a situation through. But in the end that is what government seems to really want.
The agent in this case should have realized this is just a kid, and taken this as an opportunity to TEACH. The woodpecker was not harmed, the kid and her mom would have learned more about woodpeckers and a lesson about the laws protecting them. By turning this into a positive incident, the agent may have planted a seed for a future conservationist or Fish & Wildlife agent. But probably not now.
If the kid is a brat or mom gets in your face while you are taking the "positive" approach, that's when you say, "Okay. We'll do it your way. Here's a citation."
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