A 57-year-old woman accused of stealing a nene gosling from Wailoa State Recreation Area in late March made her initial appearance Friday in Hilo Environmental Court.
Mei Qin Chen appeared without an attorney alongside a Mandarin language interpreter. Hilo District Judge Kanani Laubach instructed Chen, who didn’t enter a plea, to fill out forms with the assistance of the interpreter, Esther Atwell, requesting the services of the Office of the Public Defender.
The judge also instructed Chen to return to court at 8:30 a.m. June 16.
Chen was cited May 23 by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement with three offenses: the prohibited taking of a wild bird; the taking of an endangered species; and harming wildlife.
The first two charges are misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in jail and fines of up to $2,000. Harming wildlife is a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
At least twice, after Chen was asked by the judge following routine advisories if she understood what the judge was saying, Chen replied through the interpreter that she didn’t know she had done anything wrong.
According to the DLNR, they and police were called by several witnesses who said they saw a woman, later identified as Chen, feeding a nene family by the Wailoa Small Harbor boat ramp.
The DLNR said witnesses reported that Chen used bread to distract the gosling’s parents, grabbed the gosling, and stuffed it into a bag. The witnesses gave the DLNR and police a description of the woman’s vehicle, including the license plate number.
One couple who witnessed the incident reportedly followed Chen’s vehicle until police pulled her over in Keaau, which led to the DLNR citation. The gosling was found in an onion bag, according to the DLNR.
Nene, the Hawaiian goose, is the state bird of Hawaii and is listed by both the National Park Service and the state Division of Forestry and Wildlife as endangered.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.