California goose hunter handed 3-year hunting ban after violating international bird treaty

A Northern California man was sentenced Friday in Sacramento federal court to a temporary hunting ban and a fine for violating an international treaty the after organizing and participating in a goose hunt near the Sutter National Wildlife Refuge.

During the hunt, according to prosecutors, Carlos T. Ortiz, 27, of Live Oak and nine other hunters shot and killed hundreds of snow geese and white-fronted geese — both species that are protected under the international treaty Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The treaty’s signatories are the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan and Russia.

Ortiz pleaded guilty to transportation and receipt of untagged migratory game birds. He was sentenced in federal court in Sacramento to a three-year hunting ban, three years of probation and a $1,000 fine. The two charges could have resulted in six months in prison, according to an information filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

It was not known if others in the hunting party were charged.

Under this law, hunters may not kill, capture, sell or transport any migratory bird, unless they are authorized to do so under a permit issued by the U.S. Interior secretary. Even with a permit, if migratory game birds are killed and left behind anywhere other than a hunter’s home, they must have a tag attached signed by the hunter with detailed information including their address, the number and species of birds and the date the birds were killed.

A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife investigation revealed that none of the 258 birds shot by Ortiz and other hunters on the trip were tagged as required by law. Prosecutors, in a Friday news release, did not say whether the group had a permit to hunt the birds.

This story was originally published August 4, 2023 at 5:28 PM.