In Bakersfield, California, the Fish and Wildlife Service seized a tractor and other farming equipment from Tong Ming Lin, a Taiwanese immigrant who farmed bok choy and bamboo shoots. Mr. Lin was threatened with a $300,000 fine or a three-year prison term after his tractor was allegedly used to kill one to five endangered kangaroo rats. For good measure, the government also demanded that he give up title to 363 acres of his 720-acre holding, for which he had paid $1.5 million, and that he also pay another $172,425 to fund the operation of a wildlife preserve.

On the morning of Sunday, February 20, 1994, state and federal marshals searched Lin's property for Tipton kangaroo rats. Finding bits they claimed were part of a deceased rat, they confiscated Lin's tractor and discing machine. However, after three months the Fish and Wildlife Service was still unable to prove that the animal remains they found were actually part of an endangered species. The only difference between a Tipton kangaroo rat and non-endangered rats is a tenth of an inch in the length of the back feet.

The Fish and Wildlife Service not only charged the farmer, but also brought suit against the manufacturer of the tractor. Bakersfield businessman E.G. Berthold was surprised to receive a set of official documents from the U.S. Attorney's office titled "The United States of America vs. One Ford Tractor, Serial No. Nd1VC715V."

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