May Face Federal Charges For Harassing An Endangered Animal

A YouTube video which has since been removed from the service reportedly showed a man flying a powered paraglider near Salt Lake City, UT, kicking at an owl in mid-air, and bragging about it. That pilot, who has not been positively identified, may face federal charges of animal harassment.

The video was removed by Dell Schanze, who claims he holds its copyrights. Several sources told Fox News that he is also the pilot in the video.

Before the clip was taken down from the service, federal officials began looking into the incident to determine if any federal animal harassment laws were broken. At one point in the video, the pilot can be heard saying "I kicked an owl's butt."

David Blizzard, president of Oregon's Cascade Paragliding Association, says he thinks Schanze is the pilot. If so, he's been in trouble with the law before. He was fined $1,000 in 2011 for paragliding from a landmark in Oregon, and was the subject of numerous complaints for antics like flying low, harassing wildlife, and annoying people on the ground, according to Mark Forbes, treasurer for the U.S. Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association.

Schanze used to be a member of the Oregon organization, but he's been banned. Many members believe he was the catalyst for a comprehensive ban on powered paragliding on that state's beaches.

(Powered paraglider image from file. Not from video)

FMI: www.cascadeparaglidingclub.org