Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers are requesting assistance with any information regarding five bald eagles found dead from April 3 to 17 in Delta County’s Garden Peninsula. Anyone with information is asked to contact the DNR’s Report All Poaching Hotline by calling or texting 800-292-7800. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources photo)
Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials have asked for the public’s help in determining what happened to five bald eagles found dead in Delta County’s Garden Peninsula.
The eagle carcasses were recovered between April 3 and April 17 in a single area on the peninsula, a piece of land that extends south from Delta County and is bordered by Big Bay de Noc to the west and Lake Michigan to the east, the DNR stated in a news release Monday.
“The DNR is requesting tips from the public to help solve this ongoing investigation,” said 1st Lt. Mark Zitnik, DNR Law Enforcement supervisor in Newberry. “We can confirm that the eagles did not die from natural causes, predators or vehicle collisions.”
The birds appear to include adults and juveniles.
Tipsters who provide information leading to the arrest and prosecution of any individuals may be eligible for a cash reward.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the DNR’s Report All Poaching Hotline by calling or texting 800-292-7800. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local tribes are assisting the DNR with this investigation.
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d), enacted in 1940, and amended several times since, prohibits anyone without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from “taking” bald or golden eagles or their parts, including feathers, nests or eggs, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Act provides criminal penalties for persons who “take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or any manner, any bald eagle … (or any golden eagle), alive or dead, or any part (including feathers), nest, or egg thereof.”
The Act defines “take” as “pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb.”
Michigan DNR conservation officers are fully licensed law enforcement officers. For more information, go online to Michigan.gov/ConservationOfficers.
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