U.S. offers reward for poacher who shot bald eagle in Connecticut
BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. wildlife authorities are on the hunt for a poacher who shot a bald eagle to death last week in Connecticut, officials said on Friday, announcing a $5,000 reward. The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, is protected from hunting by federal law and killing one is punishable by up to two years in prison. The dead eagle was found on a roadside on Dec. 13 in the Hartford suburb of Rocky Hill. An autopsy revealed that it was killed by a gunshot wound, the state's environment department said in a statement. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and State Environmental Conservation Police are jointly investigating the incident," it said. The statement added that a $5,000 reward would be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the shooting. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife official was not immediately available to comment on the investigation. Once pushed to the brink of extinction by the effects of the banned pesticide DDT, bald eagles have rebounded in recent years and were removed from the list of endangered species in 2007. (Reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Alan Crosby)
