How we got the method for calculating the value of illegally killed wild animals

When wild animals are suspected to have been illegally killed and officials want to put a price tag on the value of those animals, they typically turn to one man — Ed Clark. Clark, president of the Wildlife Center of Virginia, a teaching and research hospital for wildlife and conservation medicine, is "also an expert witness for the Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Justice Department and other agencies, testifying about how to calculate the financial value of wild animals," Eric Freedman reports for Great Lakes Echo, a service of the Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University. (Wildlife Center of Virginia photo)

"In the 1980s, Clark developed a protocol for putting a price tag on wildlife. It originated with a situation in which the operators of a private shooting preserve in Virginia had illegally trapped hawks and migratory birds," Freedman writes. "His approach treats wildlife as property, much like real estate, without factoring in such intangibles as spiritual value or aesthetics. If a house is destroyed, what would it cost to rebuild it? If a house is damaged, what would it cost to repair?"

Clark said there are three ways to base calculations — replacement, rehabilitation and fair market value, Freedman writes, citing the case of a Wisconsin father and son who pled guilty to illegal possession of one federally protected bald eagle but weer suspected of poisoning others, and other species. They paid $100,000 in restitution to federal and state agencies and $40,000 in fines, and were barred from hunting, fishing and trapping for seven years and five years.

"Replacement means actual replacement – 'restoring to the ecosystem an animal that is able to quite literally replace the one that was taken,' he said," Freedman writes. "Thus, a chick isn’t an actual replacement for a 16-year-old eagle. In court papers, the prosecution cited Clark’s $2,500 valuation for the poisoned turkey vulture, 'based on similarity to large hawks, with adjustments for size, slow rate of maturity and longevity,' while dead crows and ravens were valued at $450-$750 each 'based on size, similarity to raptors, with adjustment for relative ease of rearing.'”

"Second, if an animal is illegally shot and wounded, what would it cost to rehabilitate it so it could return to the wild?" Freedman writes. "And third, what is the animal’s fair market value 'where a legal market exists' in the United States or abroad. As an example, he noted that birds of prey such as falcons can legally be sold."

"Under the law, doing the math for restitution is a matter of determining the 'empirical value' of an animal, without regard to what people consider a 'popular species' or the rarity of the animal," Freedman writes. Clark told Freedman, “Social valuation is not what’s being asked for. That’s entirely subjective." He said values of some animals have been well-established, such as $10,000 for an adult baby eagle and $5,000 for a juvenile. (Read more)