A Clark County man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he shot and killed a bald eagle earlier this year.
A Clark County man is facing federal charges after prosecutors say he shot and killed a bald eagle earlier this year.
Benjamin G. Allen, 66, of Brush Prairie was charged Tuesday, Aug. 4, with violating federal law by killing a bald eagle, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.
Prosecutors allege Allen shot and killed the bird with a shotgun on Feb. 5.
An image of a deceased bald eagle. (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police) He has been summoned to appear in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Sept. 8. According to court records, officers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife went to a property in Brush Prairie after getting a report of a dead bald eagle with blood around its head.
A witness reported hearing a gunshot earlier that day.
Investigators said Allen kept chickens near where the eagle was found.
Special agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service later interviewed Allen about the dead eagle and his actions that day.
A veterinarian's examination found two shotgun pellets lodged in the eagle's brain, which investigators say caused the bird's death.
Allen is charged with a Class A misdemeanor for violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and a Class B misdemeanor for unlawfully killing a migratory bird.
A Class A misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
