When Carol Bentz of Manchester, Maryland, wanted to have her dying pet, a blue heron named Steve, stuffed and donated to a local high school, she discovered that transporting a dead heron, which is a protected bird, is punishable by a federal fine of up to $5,000 and six months in jail and a state fine of $1,000 and one year in jail. While looking for someone with a permit to transport a dead heron, she also discovered that a special permit was required to "salvage" a dead heron. Once the dead heron is "salvaged," a private citizen is not allowed to possess a stuffed heron. When Bentz finally located a law enforcement agent of the Fish and Wildlife Service, he told her that she should freeze the bird while he started the paperwork moving on her permits. Once he discovered the location of the high school the dead bird would be donated to, that meant more permits. Finally the bird was moved and prepared by a taxidermist specially licensed for preparing protected birds. Said Bentz of the ordeal: "The government made me angry. I thought it was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard in my life."

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