Eagle parts probe 'entrapment': native leaders

Fifteen men charged with slaughtering bald eagles in North Vancouver in 2005 were entrapped and never should never have been prosecuted, First Nations leaders said Thursday.

The men were allegedly responsible for the mutilation of 50 bald eagles.

The Crown alleged the men butchered the birds to sell their wings, heads, tails and talons on the black market and then buried the remains on native land near Cates Park in North Vancouver.

Native leaders, including Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations,  told a Vancouver news conference the men were entrapped by authorities.

Atleo said the men said a conservation officer posed undercover as someone wanting to buy eagle feathers for native ceremonies and offered money and alcohol to innocent men.

"They went on a trolling trip, dragging their hooks and lines into our communities," said Grand Chief Doug Kelly of the Stoh:lo Tribal Council. "They hooked individuals that practise our culture and spirituality, who are not criminals, who don't do this for money."

Atleo said the provincial government must review the conduct of its investigators

"[These] people seek to cause divisions and create conflict, causing deeper rifts between First Nations and the rest of the community," Atleo said.

Cases still in court

The chiefs said the men who sold the eagle parts to the undercover officer did not kill the eagles and the guilty parties are still at large.

Some of the 15 accused pleaded guilty and were fined for charges such as unlawful possession of wildlife and illegally trafficking in dead wildlife parts. Other cases are still before the courts.

Francis James of Chilliwack is among those still fighting the charges.

"It was a direct attack, I believe, on our culture and our society," James said.

The chiefs said they believe it's a right of First Nations members to "sustainably harvest" eagles for non-profit ceremonial use.