The remaining juvenile eagle with fatal injuries to its wing had to be humanely euthanised. Photo: WIRES.
CONTENT WARNING: Some readers may find the contents of this article distressing.
A volunteer for wildlife rescue group WIRES says her discovery of seven wedge-tailed eagles shot multiple times near Junee was perhaps the worst incident she’s experienced in her 10 years with the organisation.
A property owner in the small town of Eurongilly called WIRES when she discovered an injured (alive) wedge-tail, which she thought may have been hit by a car.
WIRES Riverina raptor coordinator Shelly Rozsa went to the property to rescue the animal with her partner Andrew Jones, where the pair made a shocking discovery.
“We then found six dead wedge-tails dumped under a tree. One bird had only recently died; its blood was fresh. They were all at different stages of decomposing … I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said.
“There was also a dead lamb carcass there, which was weird. Whether someone has put the carcass to draw them to the area we just don’t know; we can’t make assumptions.”
All seven of the juvenile eagles found under or near a single tree. Photo: WIRES.
Ms Rozsa said the living bird was wandering around with a wing half hanging off and a broken leg.
“It was sad and distressing … we took him to the vet to get euthanised, where he was also x-rayed. There were shots scattered all over the body, mainly concentrated in the chest and legs.”
Commenters on social media have suggested the birds of prey may have been shot to protect lambs.
“There’s so many alternatives to what you can do,” Ms Rozsa said.
“You can put out rabbit or fox carcasses as they’d love munching on that. Wedge-tails are opportune hunters; they won’t chase something down and hunt it. I’m not saying they don’t take lambs, but generally they’d have to be sick and incapacitated before they’d take them.
“They are a protected species and the fines [for killing them] are huge.”
A healthy wedge-tailed eagle. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The incident was reported to Riverina Police District on Tuesday (8 April), and an investigation began.
Police are appealing for anyone who has any information or heard anything unusual in the vicinity to contact Junee Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Wedge-tailed eagles are a protected species in Australia and – if convicted – offenders can face fines or up to two years’ imprisonment.
Original Article published by Oliver Jacques on Region Riverina.
