Eagle Pluckers Join Chicken Outfit

Two men who illegally plucked the tail feathers from two golden eagles were sentenced to work in a chicken processing plant.

“Hopefully, you’ll never want to be around another feather in your life,” U.S. Magistrate Claude Hicks told them Wednesday.

John Kevin Cooper, 24, and Douglas Grant Rustay, 25, were also placed on 18 months’ probation and fined $500.

Cooper, a student, and Rustay, a convenience store manager, were ordered to work a 40-hour week at a chicken plant.

In 1993, the men broke into an eagle cage at a wildlife center and stole the feathers. Possession of golden eagle feathers is a federal offense.

Lawyers for Cooper and Rustay said they were interested in nature and Indian culture.