PYATT, Arkansas — Federal and state wildlife authorities have posted a $15,000 reward for information leading to whoever might be responsible for the deaths of four bald eagles in Marion County Arkansas.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service originally put up a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest and conviction of those who killed the federally protected birds near Pyatt, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
“We grieve the senseless and illegal killing of these majestic birds and want the perpetrator brought to justice,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center. “This cowardly act against America’s national bird can’t go unpunished. I hope someone steps forward with information.”
A joint investigation by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that the birds were shot between mid-January and mid-February. In addition to the eagles, authorities found red-tailed hawks, a domestic dog, and white-tailed deer in the vicinity that had also been shot and killed.
“There’s, I think, evidence that somebody probably shot (the birds) from the road, but I don’t even know that they’re 100% certain of that,” said Rob Finley, the Arkansas Game and Fish commissioner for the area where the eagles were killed. “I know that they did set up a little bit of an operation to see if ... the people ever came back, but never did.”
Finley said that is when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took the lead on the investigation.
Bald eagles are federally protected and if killed, violators could face up to a $250,000 fine and up to two years in federal prison if convicted. While protected, bald eagles are no longer considered endangered. They were removed from the endangered list in 2007.
“The bald eagles do migrate in and out of the state quite a bit now,” Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesperson Randy Zellers said. “We do have nesting bald eagles in the state. But we (also) see an influx of bald eagles every winter, primarily with the waterfowl migration. When the waterfowl come south, a lot of eagles will follow them down (to prey on).”
Anyone with information about the bald eagles killed in Marion County should contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (501) 513-4470 or the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission at (833) 356-0824.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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