Wartrace, Tenn., man pleads guilty to killing bird

A Wartrace, Tenn., man pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Chattanooga to misusing the pesticide carbofuran and unlawfully killing a migratory bird, U.S. attorney's office spokeswoman Sharry Dedman-Beard said in a news release.

In December 2010, Lawrence Parawan, 57, laced a chicken carcass with carbofuran and placed the carcass in the open on his chicken farm, intending to kill the farm's predators. Lacing a chicken carcass with the aim of poisoning wildlife goes against the federally mandated use restrictions placed on all carbofuran labels, Dedman-Beard said.

Several animals were killed because they came into contact with the poisoned carcass, including a Northern Harrier Hawk, which is a protected bird under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Dedman-Beard said.

Parawan's sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2012. He faces a term of six months in prison for killing the bird and 30 is prison for misusing the pesticide. He also faces a fine of up to $15,000 and up to one year of supervised release, Dedman-Beard said.

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