Eagle feet with talons, feathers and blood among items seized in illegal trafficking case in Alberta

Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Services (FWES) says it has charged five people following extensive investigations into poaching and illegal trafficking on Stoney Nakoda and Eden Valley First Nations land in southern Alberta. According to the release, among those charged is an American fugitive who had been living in Alberta. Simon Paul of Montana, Teresa Snow and Eli Snow of Morley, Alberta, and James Brittain and Sophia Soriano of Calgary face a combined 34 charges under Alberta’s Wildlife Act, and nine Criminal Code charges. The FWES alleges in the release that in Aug. 2024, its undercover unit received intelligence from a confidential informant that Paul had fled to Canada and was living with Teresa Snow on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation. Paul was wanted in the United States on multiple charges related to the killing and trafficking of birds of prey in Montana and had failed to appear in court. Further reports in November 2024 indicated that Paul was actively killing eagles on the Stoney Nakoda and Eden Valley First Nations land and selling wildlife products. FWES launched an undercover operation in which the agency alleges Paul, Snow, and Brittain sold various items to undercover officers, including a bald eagle feather headdress, black bear claw necklaces and a raptor talon dance stick. The release also says that in March this year, FWES officers in Cochrane initiated a separate investigation after receiving a Report A Poacher tip about Paul and Eli Snow allegedly shooting eagles and hawks from a truck near Cochrane. Search warrants executed on the suspects’ truck and residence uncovered multiple freshly removed eagle feet with talons, feathers, blood, and other raptor parts, as well as unsecured firearms. Across both investigations, the accused face several charges including unlawful possession and trafficking of wildlife. None of the charges have been proven in court. None of the allegations have been tested in court. In Alberta, First Nations with treaty rights or Métis harvesting status can lawfully harvest and possess certain wildlife for subsistence purposes for themselves and their immediate families. Wildlife harvested under those rights can’t be transferred, traded, bartered, sold, or possessed by anyone outside of the immediate family. Continue Reading