The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $3,000 reward for information regarding the shootings of two eagles left at the headquarters of the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry in the Navajo Nation. The service says a bald eagle was found shot, and stripped of tail feathers, on March 13th. It died of its injuries. A golden eagle was also found shot and without tail feathers on March 21st. Part of one wing had been amputated, so although the bird is recovering, it cannot be released back into the wild. Bald eagles were once an endangered species but were removed from the list in 2007. However, both bald and golden eagles are protected by other laws and it is illegal to injure or kill them. The Fish and Wildlife Service has a repository from which members of Native American tribes can legally receive eagle feathers and other parts for religious purposes.
Anyone with information regarding the shootings of these eagles is asked to contact the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in Albuquerque, New Mexico (505-346-7828), or the Navajo Nation Department of Fish & Wildlife/ Navajo Nation’s Operation Game Thief (928-221-9114). Callers with information may remain anonymous. The service is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible for the shootings of these eagles
