CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- The federal government is investigating the shooting of a bald eagle in Hampton Roads.
The Virginian-Pilot reportedthe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is gathering evidence after an eagle named “Camellia” was shot in Chesapeake Saturday.
Staff at the Virginia Beach SPCA said they were forced to euthanize the bird because his injuries were so severe.
“The X-ray showed over 20 pieces of buckshots in the bird. The damage was so severe it wouldn’t have survived its injuries," Reese Lukei with the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William & Mary told the newspaper.
The seven-year-old was born in 2010 at Norfolk Botanical Garden and was featured on their eagle cam for a few years.
Since bald eagles are protected under federal law, shooting one of the birds could result in a two-year prison sentence.