Man is sentenced to prison for eagle and hawk killing spree

A Washington man faces nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to killing and selling hundreds of protected eagles and hawks.

Travis John Branson, 49, of Cusick, Washington, was accused last year of participating in a poaching scheme that killed about 3,600 birds on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Federal prosecutors said Branson and his co-defendant, Simon Paul, hunted birds, including eagles, on the reservation for six years and then sold them on the black market in the United States.

In the following case, prosecutors used his text messages to directly attribute 118 eagle and 107 hawk deaths to Branson. They estimate he made up to $360,000 selling eagle parts.

In text messages, Branson acknowledged the illegality of his actions and said he was going on a “killing spree” and “committing crimes,” court documents show.