Man Sentenced For Selling Bear Parts
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Man Sentenced For Selling Bear Parts
Man sentenced for selling bear parts
By Steve Lyttle
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010
A member of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina has been sentenced in federal court in North Carolina to six months in prison for illegally transporting and selling gall bladders from bears, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Clement Calhoun sold 51 black bear gall bladders, prosecutors say. He will face one year of supervised release after his prison term, and he will not be permitted to hunt or hold a hunting license.
Prosecutors say Calhoun pleaded guilty in December to the charges, admitting he transported the bear parts from trust lands and sold them to non-members of the Cherokee Nation, a violation of the Cherokee legal code. The offenses happened in 2005, prosecutors say.
The government says the bile from the bear's gall bladder is highly prized for its medicinal purposes in some Asian cultures. Animal experts say the demand for bear gall bladders could become a threat to the black bear population. North Carolina has one of the biggest black bear populations east of the Mississippi River.
He was convicted under the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to transport or sell wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of tribal law. The Cherokee code makes it illegal for any person to sell body parts from bears to non-members or anyone beyond the boundaries of Cherokee Indian trust lands.
By Steve Lyttle
slyttle@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010
A member of the Cherokee Nation in North Carolina has been sentenced in federal court in North Carolina to six months in prison for illegally transporting and selling gall bladders from bears, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
Clement Calhoun sold 51 black bear gall bladders, prosecutors say. He will face one year of supervised release after his prison term, and he will not be permitted to hunt or hold a hunting license.
Prosecutors say Calhoun pleaded guilty in December to the charges, admitting he transported the bear parts from trust lands and sold them to non-members of the Cherokee Nation, a violation of the Cherokee legal code. The offenses happened in 2005, prosecutors say.
The government says the bile from the bear's gall bladder is highly prized for its medicinal purposes in some Asian cultures. Animal experts say the demand for bear gall bladders could become a threat to the black bear population. North Carolina has one of the biggest black bear populations east of the Mississippi River.
He was convicted under the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to transport or sell wildlife taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of tribal law. The Cherokee code makes it illegal for any person to sell body parts from bears to non-members or anyone beyond the boundaries of Cherokee Indian trust lands.
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