Montana eagle killer gets federal prison term
A Washington man who shot and sold eagles for “the price of a bullet” and bragged about going “on a killing spree” was sentenced Oct. 31 to 46 months in federal prison for his role in leading a trafficking scheme on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Travis John Branson, 49, who may have killed at least 3,600 birds in the course of 12 years, also was ordered to pay $777,250 in restitution for the eagles and hawks the U.S. government could prove he killed through text messages and other evidence.
In U.S. District Court of Montana in Missoula, Branson apologized to his family and told them he loved them. He thanked “everyone that put time into this.”
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