$100,000 Penalty For Cracking an Egg???

Three years ago, the bald eagle was removed from the federal registry of endangered species. Some attribute that success to the protection and conservation of the majestic bird as a result of the BALD EAGLE PROTECTION ACT passed in 1940 and its subsequent amendments (16 U.S.C. §§ 668-668d, June 8, 1940, as amended 1959, 1962, 1972, and 1978).

The original Act noted that the Continental Congress in 1782 adopted the bald eagle as a national icon and the eagle subsequently went on to become the symbolic representation of our new nation as well as the American ideals of freedom.  However, within a hundred years of adopting the bald eagle as the national symbol – the bird was nearly extinct in this country.

So the law was passed that made it a federal offense to “…pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb…a bald or golden eagle, alive or dead; or any part of its nest or egg of these eagles….”

The original penalty for violating this law was $5,000 or a year in prison. However, under the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, as amended in 1987, the fine soared to $100,000 for guilty individuals who tried to “…pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb…a bald or golden eagle, alive or dead; or any part, nest or egg of these eagles….”