CATTARAUGUS COUNTY, N.Y. — The federal government is looking for someone who they say shot and killed a bald eagle in Cattaraugus County last year.
The conservation manager with Seneca Nation Fish and Wildlife told 2 On Your Side that on November 20 a complaint came in after someone spotted the bird at the top of a tree along the Allegheny River off Old Route 17.
A few days later, crews recovered the banded sub-adult female bald eagle and determined she had died from a gunshot wound. That's a crime that could carry up to a $100,000 fine and a year in jail.
Barbara Haney is the director of the wildlife department at the SPCA Serving Erie County. She's not connected to this case but her department treats around 3,400 wild animals a year, covering more than 100 different species.
She said she was horrified to hear what happened.
"Shooting an eagle is morally reprehensible," Haney said, adding, "the idea that anyone would shoot one of these creatures is unfathomable."
At one point, bald eagles were listed under the Endangered Species Act. That's not the case anymore, but they are still federally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
"When I was a kid, we never saw eagles," Haney said. "We barely saw raptors, and we've made choices as a human species to protect them, to bring them back from near extinction, and the idea that someone would shoot them is horrible."
She added, "We need them. We need them as part of our ecosystem, just as we need all the other creatures that are a part of our beautiful ecosystem here in Western New York."
A release from the Seneca Nation says:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Seneca Nation of Indians are asking anyone with information about this incident to contact either Special Agent Ryan Bessey with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Amherst, NY at (716) 691-3635, Conservation Manager Lawrence Becelia with the Seneca Nation Fish and Wildlife at (716) 945-2779, or 1-844-FWS-TIPS (397-8477).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering up to a $5,000 reward.