 |
Hundreds
of terns nested on this anchored
barge when they were hosed
off the barge in the harbor
off Long Beach, CA. (IBRRC
photo) |
A
n arraignment was postponed
to late June for the
owner of a San Diego-based
barge owner and two employees
charged in the deaths last
summer of more than 400 fledgling
terns that had nested on two
barges in the Port of Long
Beach.
Point Loma Maritime Services
owner Ralph Botticelli, 40, and his employees
- Alan Schlange, 38, and Scott Caslin,
32 - have been charged with seven misdemeanor
counts, including animal cruelty, in connection
with the June 2006 incident.
According to prosecutors, Schlange and
Caslin approached a colony of fragile
and rare nesting terns on two rock barges
anchored in the harbor, and then forced
the birds into the water - where hundreds
of them drowned.
Ralph Botticelli has steadfastly
claimed that his workers accidently
hosed down the birds as they
sat nesting on the barges.
The men, who face up to a
year in jail for each count,
have not yet entered pleas.
Their Long Beach Superior
Court arraignment has been
rescheduled to June 28, 2007.
More
news: Press-Telegram report
IBRRC helped treat the surviving
colony members at its San
Pedro Bird Center. Its staff
released
about 25 Caspian and Elegant
Terns back into
the wild after successful
rehabilitation.
The terns – slim seabirds
related to gulls but in this
case too young to be able
to fly – were
carelessly swept off two privately
owned barges with
high-pressure hoses before
the vessels were moved.
Initial reports suggested that the tugboat
crew had used high-pressure hoses to destroy
the nesting Caspian and elegant terns,
which had become a tourist attraction
for cruise ship operators.
The delicate, skittish birds
are protected under federal law, authorities
said, and it is a misdemeanor to disturb
them. Animal cruelty is a felony in California.
When the tern massacre came
to light, IBRRC teamed with
the International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW) to offer
a $10,000 reward to find the
people responsible for this
crime.
Previous
IBRRC report
About IBRRC
IBRRC has been helping
birds around the world since 1971.
Its mission is to mitigate human
impact on aquatic birds and other
wildlife. This is achieved through
rehabilitation, emergency response,
education, research, planning and
training.
About IFAW
Founded in 1969,
IFAW works around the globe to
protect animals and their habitats
and to create a better world for
animals and people. See: IFAW website
|
|
 Opinion:
From the LA Times
Could the deaths
of thousands of terns in Long
Beach have been prevented?
Video
reports:
CBS-TV
report
Two weeks before massacre colony is alive and thriving
CBS-TV
Report
June 28, 2006:
Hundreds of baby terns wash up dead
NBC-TV
Report
Reward offered in case
of baby Terns washing up dead
Print stories:
Long Beach Gazette
Investigation
Continues In Terns’ Deaths
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