How does Bush decide whom to pardon? Being a bald eagle (our nation’s symbol) killer seems to be a perquisite. Bush pardoned a man that used pesticide to kill coyotes but instead killed a host of other scavengers. According to The Colorado Independent, “After the dust settled, the body count included seven coyotes, [three] bald eagles, a red-tailed hawk, a great horned owl, an opossum and a raccoon.” From The Associated Press:

Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo., who pleaded guilty in 1995 to unlawfully killing three bald eagles in southeast Missouri. He improperly used pesticide in hamburger meat to kill coyotes, but ended up killing many other animals, including the bald eagles. Collier, who was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, was sentenced Feb. 2, 1996 in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Seems like having violated or conspiring to violate a conservation law is a prerequisite to winning a pardon from President Bush:

Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.

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