Macho B: McCain pleads guilty, gets slap on the wrist

It's astounding that Emil McCain got just five years probation and $1000 fine for his role in the intentional snaring of Macho B, the last known jaguar in the U.S.

Emil McCain pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor crime: illegal take of an endangered species. To "take" means to knowingly harass, harm, pursue, trap or kill, in violation of the Federal Endangered Species Act, court records show....

In the plea agreement, McCain admitted an allegation that he had previously denied - that on Feb. 4, 2009, he told a female co-worker to place jaguar scat at snare sites in an effort to lure and capture the rare jaguar.

Via.

So, McCain intentionally snares an endangered species without permission, spends a year lying like an effing rug and throwing his friends under the bus, and in general, acting like he's going to get away with his bullshit- and then- five years probation and a $1000 fine. Unbelievable.

The bummer is that his probation is only effective in the U.S. We hear he's off to Spain to "study" lynx. All we can say is, this guy has got a black thumb when it comes to big cats. Etc. We wish he weren't going to be allowed anywhere near a wild animal for at least five years, or until his ego shrinks back down to a healthy size.

Sigh.
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UPDATE MAY 17: It looks like Janay Brun might bear the brunt on this one. Sucks. Hopefully she can either plea bargain like McCain did or the Judge will let her off easy for her role in exposing the crime.

McCain flies off to Spain, leaves another dead cat and two shattered careers (Brun and Smith's) in his wake. When karma catches up to that guy, it's really going to suck for him. Hopefully he'll know better than to come back to southern Arizona looking for sympathy.