Government can ban trade in eagle parts, rules federal appeals panel
By The Associated Press
02.03.03
SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court on Jan. 31 upheld the conviction of a Native American from Canada for smuggling bald eagle parts into the United States.
Leonard Fridall Terry Antoine, a member of the Cowichan Band of the Salish Indian Tribe in British Columbia, had argued that his conviction should be overturned because he brought the eagle parts into the United States for use in religious ceremonies.
Antoine was convicted of one count of smuggling and four counts of knowingly possessing, selling, bartering or offering to sell or barter eagle parts. He was found to have parts of at least 29 eagles in a storage facility in Washington and the parts of at least 124 eagles at his home in British Columbia, said assistant U.S. attorney Helen Brunner.
Witnesses in the case testified that Antoine would buy carcasses from them for $20 to $50, and he would then prepare parts of the birds such as wings, talons and feathers for use in ceremonies. The birds are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
"The government theory was this was for a commercial purpose, but our view was this was not commercial and that he was doing this within the potlatch system," said Antoine's attorney federal public defender Michael Filipovic.
Antoine maintained that he was not selling the parts for profit, but exchanged the parts for money or goods as part of the custom of "potlatch," which he said has religious significance for him.
But the government said Antoine was receiving things of value in exchange for the parts.
"No one can get a permit to sell," Brunner said. "You can get a permit to transport; you can get a permit to possess. You can't get a permit to sell or barter."
Antoine argued that the eagle-protection law placed a substantial burden on his ability to practice his religion and therefore he was exempt from that law under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The act suspends some federal laws if there's a substantial burden on a person's ability to practice his religion, unless the laws are the least restrictive on the practice of religion and the government has a compelling reason to keep them in place.
"The government has a compelling interest in eagle protection that justifies limiting supply to eagles that pass through the repository, even though religious demand exceeds supply as a result," wrote Judge Alex Kozinski for the unanimous three-judge panel.
Filipovic said there has been no determination yet on whether to pursue the matter further. Antoine has been in jail since January 2002.
Under the current program, federal wildlife agents who find eagle carcasses send them to a repository in Colorado, and members of tribes recognized by the U.S. government can apply for permits to obtain parts of eagles for religious practices. The waiting list is several years long.
Antoine is not a member of a U.S.-recognized tribe. The court ruled he violated the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act when he brought eagle parts from Canada.