Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman said Tuesday he doesn't ever want to see another "grossly misguided" confiscation of a pet bird here.

So he's altered county court rules so that the Pennsylvania Game Commission can't obtain search warrants without approval of the DA's office.

"I cannot undo what was done here, but I can, and have, made sure that something like this will not take place in Lancaster County again," Stedman said Tuesday.

The bird seizure happened in May after an Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era story about Elizabethtown woman Pati Mattrick, who had saved the life of a baby house finch that had fallen from a nest and then kept the bird as a beloved pet for four years.

Taking wildlife out of the wild for use as a pet is against state and federal laws.

Two days after the story ran, the Game Commission obtained a search warrant from District Judge Jayne Duncan of Elizabethtown and went to Mattrick's home.

The incident outraged many people, including Lancaster County's district attorney, who said he would not have issued a search warrant.

"What took place here was not right nor was it done for the right reasons," Stedman said. "The finch posed no threat or danger to the community. Mrs. Mattrick had saved it from certain death, had no criminal intent whatsoever and she was not attempting to scoff the PGC or the law.

"At best," Stedman said, "this case was a grossly misguided abuse of law enforcement discretion. At worst, it was just plain cruel. I most certainly would not have approved this warrant."

Stedman has no direct supervisory powers over the Game Commission. But he recently initiated an administrative order to change criminal procedure rules in the county to prevent district judges or county court judges from giving warrants to the Game Commission without his office's approval.

President Judge Joseph Madenspacher signed the order, which was published, as required, in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on July 17. It takes effect 30 days after publication.

Stedman said Richard Palmer, the Game Commission's director of the Bureau of Wildlife Protection, informed him that the agency would comply with the new order.

The Game Commission did not reply to requests from the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era for comment on the new restrictions.

Stedman said he was unaware of any other county putting such restrictions on the Game Commission. "But they may want to," he said.

He said the new rule now puts in place a mandatory check on the powers of the Game Commission in Lancaster County.

Further, he said the agency will have to consult with the district attorney's office because "we can provide legal advice when they have a warrant for a legitimate case."

A Game Commission wildlife conservation officer, accompanied by three Elizabethtown police, caught the bird and took it to a wildlife rehabilitator, where it apparently remains.

A distraught Mattrick was not cited for any law violation, but was issued a warning.

Asked to list the reasons why he created the new restrictions, the district attorney said that although the Game Commission is not funded by tax dollars, the Elizabethtown Borough police officers were "and this was certainly a waste of taxpayer money."

"Further," Stedman said, "I do not even want to contemplate how outrageous it would have been had a major crime taken place during the time the officers were occupied with looking for a harmless finch.

"To this day, I still have difficulty believing that all this actually took place. Incidents like this are an embarrassment to all of those in law enforcement and must never be repeated."

A copy of the search warrant affidavit obtained by Stedman showed that it included authorization to search not only the house for the bird but also, if necessary, the body of Mattrick.

Commenting on the incident, Stedman said, "There is room for discretion in law enforcement. In fact, we would not be doing our job if we treated each case exactly the same regardless of the unique circumstances.

"Instead, each case must be treated based on the specific facts, relevant law, as well as the goals of the prosecution. Ultimately, the best guiding principle for law enforcement is to do the right thing for the right reason.

"Even after the finch was taken, there were numerous, much more reasonable potential solutions which would have served everyone's interests. I, along with others, have suggested and discussed those with the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

"Unfortunately, the PGC has declined to deviate from the path they have chosen."

acrable@lnpnewsd.com