Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 18, 1995 TAG: 9503200041
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: VIRGINIA EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Larry F. Blevins, 58, faces up to 13 months in jail and a $105,000 fine.
Blevins - who authorities said breeds fighting cocks in the Thompson Valley area of Tazewell County - put poisoned chicken carcasses around his property to kill hawks, eagles and other birds of prey, according to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agent's testimony. The birds are federally protected, and use that area as a migratory corridor, the agent said.
The golden eagle, one of the largest predatory birds, is uncommon in the East. There are few known breeding pairs in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Blevins was charged after an eight-month state and federal investigation into eagle and hawk poisonings in Thompson Valley. He was described as the largest gamecock breeder in the state by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Virginia.
Blevins also placed steel-jaw pole traps on and around his land to kill predatory birds. The Fish and Wildife Service agent said the traps and the pesticide, carbofuran, in the chicken carcasses could have killed other animals - including songbirds and household pets.
Federal law allows farmers to take or trap migratory birds that cause agricultural damage, but Blevins did not have a permit, according to the U.S. attorney.
The investigation was a joint effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
by CNB