DOVER, Ohio — A judge sentenced a 79-year-old Dover man in federal court Monday to one year of probation for killing a bald eagle last year and ordered him to pay a $4,000 fine and $1,500 in restitution.
According to the Department of Justice, the man was ordered to pay the restitution to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by U.S. Magistrate Judge Carmen E. Henderson. He's also banned from hunting for five years and the weapon he used was seized and will be destroyed.
The man previously pleaded guilty to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940.
“There is no excuse for knowingly shooting and killing a bald eagle,” said Special Agent in Charge John Brooks of the Office of Law Enforcement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Working with our state partners in Ohio, our agents investigated this senseless killing. Thanks to their work, the defendant has lost his hunting rights and will now pay substantial fines.”
Authorities said that on Oct. 7, 2021, the man was checking for pests and rodents on farmland he owned in Tuscarawas County when he spotted the eagle. He used rifle and shot the bird from around 100 feet away.
Afterward, he dumped the carcass in the tree line of a nearby field.
“The prosecution of crimes committed against our district’s wildlife and natural resources, including the national bird of the United States, are important duties of the U. S. Attorney’s Office,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Baeppler. “Individuals who senselessly kill bald eagles and other federally protected migratory birds can expect to be punished similarly.”
A nesting survey in 2021 revealed there were an estimated 806 bald eagle nests in Ohio. This is an estimated increase of 14% from the 707 bald eagle nests documented through the 2020 citizen science survey.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says bald eagle nesting success was at an estimated rate of 82% in the spring of 2021, and the number of young per nest was 1.6, well above the number of 1 per nest needed to sustain the population.
RELATED: Tuscarawas County man pleads guilty to shooting and killing bald eagle on his property
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