Dead surprise found under deck (man was upset because he had children and pets who could be caught)

[Omaha Steve]

Marta and I share a property line with Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue. So very sad.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20110402/NEWS01/704029870#dead-surprise-found-under-deck

Published Saturday April 2, 2011

A Bellevue man found an unpleasant surprise under his deck this week.

An adult male great horned owl was dead, and it still had a coil-spring foot-hold trap attached to its leg. The Nebraska Humane Society picked up the bird and turned it over to Denise Lewis of Raptor Recovery Nebraska.

Photo: http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20110402&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=704029870&Ref=AR&Profile=1014&maxw=490&maxh=275
A dead adult male great horned owl, which starved after being snared in a trap that probably was set illegally, was found Wednesday in Bellevue.

Lewis said she's seen a lot of dead birds, but “it's the worst thing I've seen in 11 years” with Raptor Recovery.

She said the owl, discovered Wednesday, would have been able to fly a little way the first day the trap caught him, but the device weighed as much as the owl. Grass imbedded in the owl's talons on the unshackled foot indicated that it probably crawled for a couple of days.

“It starved to death,” Lewis said, adding that it would have taken four or five days.

A great horned owl is a raptor and protected by state and federal laws. The federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act specifies that it is illegal to kill, injure, capture, possess, buy or sell, or trade or ship any migratory bird, nest or egg.

FULL story at link.

[virgogal]

1. They ought to leg-hold the guy who did this-------permanently.

[Myrina]

3. +100

Indeed.

[freshwest]

2. Horrible.

[BlueJazz]

4. Awwwww....

:(