https://www.yahoo.com/news/rare-bird-killed-eaten-reality-113944754.html

Nicola Smith

Wed, July 24, 2024 at 4:39 AM PDT·2 min read

191

An adventurer competing on a survivalist reality TV show said he was driven to eat a protected bird by a “very deep need to eat”.

Spencer “Corry” Jones and team-mate Oliver Dev were disqualified from the Race to Survive show in New Zealand after killing and eating a weka, or Maori hen – a flightless and plump brown bird about the size of a chicken.

The white water river guides from the US were racing other teams around checkpoints on New Zealand’s South Island with only what they could carry.

In footage from the show, Mr Jones apologised for disrespecting the country by eating the bird.

“It was shortsighted, it was foolish,” he said, before adding that “a very deep need to eat” was behind the breaking of the rules.

“We did have strategies in place for the racing but we didn’t prepare for hunger,” he explained, adding that the “mindset of starvation mode” took over, slowing down their thoughts and cognition.

New Zealand’s department of conservation has issued a written warning to the reality TV show following the incident.

The killing and consumption of a weka, a protected species, happened as Mr Jones and Mr Dev were battling the elements to survive and win a gruelling race.

The show, by Original Productions, thrusts nine teams of two into the New Zealand wilderness, tasking them with navigating rough terrain while also sourcing their own food and water.

The last team to reach any given checkpoint is eliminated until the show finds a winner. The winning team is awarded $500,000.

In a statement this week, New Zealand’s department of conservation said that it was aware that “cast members were fatigued and suffering from significant hunger, in an unusual group dynamic situation” but that killing and eating a native protected species was still “unacceptable”.

The authorities said they had been clear with the production company that protected species could not be harvested or consumed and that it had put the show “on notice” about the need to follow conservation rules, Radio New Zealand reported.

The department confirmed the company had alerted it about the incident shortly after it occurred.

The Telegraph contacted Original Productions for comment.

On its website, it warns that contestants “will need to endure physical pain” to win the prize. “The pairs must choose between the fastest route or the safest as they strive to cross the finish line,” it says.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/rare-bird-killed-eaten-reality-113944754.html

Monday, July 22, 2024Sharehttps://www.justice.gov/usao-ut/pr/two-southern-utah-men-sentenced-cougar-hunting-crime-violation-lacey-act

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Utah

Big game outfitter cheated, cougar hunts were canned

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced the final defendant today in a crime that involved a Utah licensed big game outfitter and his employee/cougar hunting guide in the District of Utah. The two defendants were sentenced separately for their involvement in a crime that defrauded hunters by leading canned hunts for commercial gain, in violation of the Lacey Act. 

Wade Lemon, 63, of Holden, Utah, was sentenced July 18, 2024, to two months’ imprisonment, ordered by the court to pay a $10,500 fine, and a one-year commercial ban on federal land. According to court documents, and statements made during his change of plea hearing, Lemon admitted to illegally participating in “canned” mountain lion hunts on January 24, 2021 and December 15, 2020 on Federal BLM and National Forest Service land. Utah law prohibits “canned hunts” of mountain lions. A canned hunt means that a cougar is treed, cornered, held at bay or its ability to escape is otherwise restricted to allow a person who was not a member of the initial hunting party to arrive and take the cougar. The federal Lacey Act prohibits selling in interstate commerce any wildlife taken or sold in violation of state law. The Lacey Act defines the “sale” of wildlife to include providing guiding or outfitting services. 

Lemon owns and operates Wade Lemon Hunting based in Holden, Utah. Lemon advertises his business on his website and boasts nearly 100% success rates yearly. However, Lemon has cheated in illegal canned cougar hunts and has defrauded hunters.  

Kacey Alan Yardley, 47, of Enoch, Utah, was sentenced July 22, 2024, to six months’ bench probation, after he pleaded guilty to his involvement in an illegal canned cougar hunt with Lemon. As part of his probationary terms, Yardley is banned from federal land for commercial purposes. According to court documents, and statements made at his change of plea hearing, Yardley worked for Lemon as a cougar hunting guide and houndsman. On December 15, 2020, while on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, Yardley admitted that during a canned hunt, a cougar was held at bay and its ability to escape was otherwise restricted to allow a hunter who was not a member of the initial hunting party to arrive and attempt to take the cougar.

“This is a unique and important case because hunting is an important part of Utah’s culture,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins of the District of Utah. “Canned hunts are illegal because they create an unfair advantage and can lead to inhumane treatment of the animals. It is also unfair to hunters who paid thousands of dollars for a guide and had no idea that they were participating in a canned hunt. My office and our law enforcement partners take these crimes seriously because they negatively impact our state and the hunting community.”

“The Forest Service issues special use permits to many outfitters and guides who provide a valuable service to the public. This case was important to help ensure the legitimacy of permitted services,” said Fishlake Forest Supervisor Mike Elson. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Forest Service and the Utah Attorney General’s Office. 

Assistant United States Attorney Ruth Hackford-Peer and Special Assistant United States Attorney Ben Willoughby of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case. 

Contact

Felicia Martinez
Public Affairs Specialist
Felicia.martinez@usdoj.gov
(801) 325-3237

BY NICK ROBERTSON – 07/23/24 8:13 PM ET

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Colorado will require dairies to test their milk supplies for bird flu every week, the state Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday, as concerns over the avian flu remain high nationwide.

State Veterinarian Maggie Baldwin said Colorado has “not been able to curb the spread of disease at this point,” after about three months of bird flu infection in the state’s livestock populations.

“We have seen devastating impacts of this disease not only to our dairy industry, but our poultry industry as well,” she said in a statement. “With the strong support of the dairy and poultry industries, we feel that this is the best next step in order to protect these vital industries in our state.”

Bird flu is of little risk to humans but has ravaged poultry and cattle populations across the country in the last year. The current outbreak has infected 11 people after contact with infected livestock.

More than 100 million poultry nationwide are infected with the current strain of avian flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 168 dairy herds have also reported infections.

Colorado’s milk surveillance program will help the state track and react to instances of the disease in cattle. Milk from infected cattle is safe to consume, as the pasteurization process of milk kills any pathogens.

The testing requirement was triggered by the mass infection of the state’s chicken population. About 70 percent of Colorado’s chickens were culled due to avian flu infection.

“Mandatory surveillance of highly pathogenic avian influenza across all of Colorado’s Grade A commercial dairies is a critical next step to tamping down the virus and protecting the food system,” state Agriculture Commissioner Kate Greenberg said in a statement.

Colorado has the highest number of reported avian flu cases in the country, the state said.