LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The reward for information leading to a conviction in the shooting death of four American bald eagles in Arkansas was raised to $15,000 on Monday.
The $10,000 addition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s $5,000 reward is from The Center of Biological Diversity. The reward was offered after the eagles were found shot in Marion County in February.
Investigators said the eagles were shot sometime between mid-January and mid-February. Authorities also found red-tailed hawks, a domestic dog and white-tailed deer in the vicinity that had also been shot and killed.
Bald eagles are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Violations of these acts carry maximum criminal penalties of up to a $250,000 fine and two years in federal prison.
Bald eagles nest in Arkansas, and they also follow waterfowl that migrate south into Arkansas during the winter months.
Anyone with information about the killings should contact the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Conway Office of Law Enforcement at 501-513-4470 or the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission at 833-356-0824.