It’s just kind of a sad incident that someone has chosen so poorly to do something so foolish. You just don’t shoot things without a permit. And obviously we don’t have permits for birds of prey, so somebody’s in trouble. – Scott Root, DWR conservation outreach manager
VERNON, Tooele County — The Humane Society of Utah has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the shooting deaths of two ferruginous hawks in Tooele County.
The baby hawks were found dead in their remote nest July 8 as result of gunshot wounds.
"When we saw (the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources) investigating this, we thought this might help," said Deann Shepherd, the Humane Society's director of communications.
A reward often helps to bring information forward, said Scott Root, DWR conservation outreach manager.
“A lot of times people that do this kind of thing tend to brag,” Root said. “We’re kind of hoping that maybe they’ve said something to someone and someone’s like, ‘Hey, I can get $5,000 out of this.’”
The Utah Bureau of Land Management also issued a reward of $2,000 for information about a wild Palomino horse found dead from a gunshot wound to the head in Delta on July 7.
Wild horses are protected animals under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.
In 15 years, only two to five cases of harassed or killed wild horses have been reported in Utah, said Lisa Reid, a BLM public affairs specialist.
“We have been successful in prosecuting all of the cases that have been brought forth,” Reid said.
People who harass or kill wild horses could be fined $2,000, sentenced to a year in prison, or both.
Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, harassing or killing hawks is a federal offense.
“It’s just kind of a sad incident that someone has chosen so poorly to do something so foolish,” Root said. “You just don’t shoot things without a permit. And obviously we don’t have permits for birds of prey, so somebody’s in trouble.”
Email: klarsen@deseretnews.com