https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr...-wildlife-violations



Press Release

Grand Jury Charges Hunting Guide and Company with Wildlife Violations

Wednesday, January 15, 2025

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs


A grand jury in Seattle returned an indictment today charging a Washington man and his company with conspiracy and for violating the Lacey Act by transporting birds that had been hunted in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).

The indictment alleges that, from August 2022 to January 2023, Branden Trager, 46, of Brush Prairie, Washington, and his guiding company, Mayhem Services LLC, guided three hunting parties in Canada to hunt waterfowl when Trager was not permitted under Canadian law to do so.

According to the indictment, Trager and Mayhem Services took hunters across the U.S.-Canadian border near Blaine, Washington. The hunts targeted the harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus), a small sea duck with a habitat ranging from Alaska to California. Hunters prize the harlequin as a trophy and as part of a challenge to hunt 41 North American waterfowl species. Washington closed harlequin hunting for the 2022-2023 season, but limited hunting remained open in British Columbia.

The indictment alleges that the hunters paid Trager thousands of dollars to guide them in Canada, and Trager falsely told Canadian and Homeland Security authorities that he was hunting with friends. Trager allegedly conspired with a Canadian taxidermist to have the hunted birds shipped back to the United States in violation of the Lacey Act.

The Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking law. It prohibits, among other things, transporting wildlife that had been illegally taken under federal, state, tribal or foreign law. The MBTA is a U.S. law that implemented treaties with Canada and other nations to ensure sustainable populations of migratory birds. The MBTA imposed regulations on bird hunting, such as limits on the quantity and hunting methods allowed to take migratory birds.

An initial appearance hearing in federal court is scheduled for Jan. 23. The maximum penalty for both the conspiracy and Lacey Act charges is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the economic gain or loss.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and Deputy Assistant Director Keith Toomey of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)’s Office of Law Enforcement made the announcement.

The USFWS’ Office of Law Enforcement led the investigation along with Homeland Security Investigations, British Columbia Conservation Officer Service and Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors and Trial Attorney Sarah Brown of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Updated January 15, 2025

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr...leas-lacey-act-crime

Press Release

Washington Hunting Guide and Outfitting Company Enter Guilty Pleas to Lacey Act Crime

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

Branden Trager of Brush Prairie, Washington, and his guiding company Mayhem Services LLC pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Tacoma to violating the Lacey Act.

In pleading guilty, Trager admitted he and Mayhem Services violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) during a January 2023 hunting trip in western Washington and then transported the taken birds in violation of the Lacey Act. Enacted 125 years ago, the Lacey Act protects the nations wildlife resources by prohibiting wildlife violations that cross state or international borders. Trager also acknowledged that in 2022 he brought hunters into British Columbia, Canada, where he guided waterfowl hunting trips targeting the harlequin duck. He could not operate as a hunting guide under Canadian law.

The harlequin duck (Histrionicus histrionicus) is a small sea duck with a habitat ranging from Alaska to California. Hunters prize the harlequin as a trophy and as part of a challenge to hunt 41 North American waterfowl species. Washington closed harlequin hunting for the 2022-2023 season, but limited hunting remained open in British Columbia.

According to plea agreements filed in court, the recommended fines are $100,000 for Trager and $75,000 for Mayhem Services. The parties also agreed to recommend that the court order the defendants to make a public statement expressing contrition and emphasizing the importance of hunting, guiding, and wildlife regulations. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 16.

According to a Joint Factual Statement filed in court, the MBTA prohibits, among other things, taking migratory birds using a motor vehicle; taking migratory birds by using a vehicle to concentrate, drive, or rally them; taking migratory birds in excess of daily bag limits; taking or crippling a migratory bird and not make reasonable efforts to retrieve it; and transporting taken migratory birds belonging to another individual without tagging them. Taking includes pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or collecting.

The Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking law. It prohibits, among other things, transporting wildlife that had been illegally taken under federal, state, tribal or foreign law. The MBTA is a U.S. law that implemented treaties with Canada and other nations to ensure sustainable populations of migratory birds.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division made the announcement.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement led the investigation along with Homeland Security Investigations, British Columbia Conservation Officer Service, and the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors and Trial Attorney Sarah Brown of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.


Updated July 22, 2025