Colorado Parks and Wildlife fines, cites CSU professor for illegally trapping birds

Colorado Parks and Wildlife cited and fined a Colorado State University professor who trapped and killed birds for West Nile virus research without the required state license.

The state agency cited Dr. Gregory Ebel for illegal possession of five crows and fined him $208, according to a news release. Ebel's 2019 license for trapping birds was also suspended.

CPW issued Ebel a warning related to the other 32 trapped crows that were being used for West Nile virus research.

Ebel's lab studies how West Nile virus interacts with birds that host the virus and spread it to other animals and humans. Catching wild birds for scientific research is legal with a state and federal permit, but the lab’s state permit expired at the end of 2017 and wasn't renewed for 2018 because of a clerical error, CSU officials said in a statement provided to the Coloradoan.

CPW’s investigation began after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals filed a complaint with the state agency and research sponsor National Institutes of Health.

“Upon investigation, this case appears to be one of an administrative oversight, not an intentional violation,” Area Wildlife Manager Ty Petersburg said in a news release. “We are supportive of the academic research Colorado State is conducting with this human health and safety project.

“Given the violations that did take place, a citation was issued for the wrongdoing. Rules and regulations must be followed, but we will continue to work with CSU faculty to obtain the proper permit to allow this important research to continue.”

Although CPW suspended Ebel's 2019 collection license, the lab's research can continue if someone else applies for a state scientific collection license. The USDA isn't investigating, CSU officials said Thursday.

Ebel’s team has caught hundreds of crows, doves, sparrows and robins for West Nile virus research with the appropriate state and federal permits since 2013, records show. The research involves catching birds, infecting them with West Nile virus and killing them at the end of the study.

PETA first criticized Ebel’s West Nile virus research methods in 2018, spurring more than 17,000 emails of complaint to CSU.

CSU officials defend Ebel's research as "essential for understanding how viruses such as West Nile survive in and spread among avian, animal and human populations, and what happens when they enter new ecosystems."

"Understanding these interactions will help provide important information about how to save human and animal lives from West Nile and other viruses, which have devastated many avian populations, including crows and raptors in Colorado, in years when the virus is spreading rapidly," CSU officials wrote in a statement provided to the Coloradoan on Thursday.

West Nile virus, transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, generally has no symptoms but in rare cases can lead to serious illness or death. Mosquitoes contract West Nile virus when they feed on infected birds, and birds contract the virus when infected mosquitoes bite them.

Jacy Marmaduke covers environment and other topics for the Coloradoan. Follow her on Twitter @jacymarmaduke. Support stories like this one with a digital subscription to the Coloradoan.