Conservation officers are investigating incidents in which eagles were shot.
One of the cases was in the Nanaimo area and the second happened near Duncan.
The shootings were among several incidents that came to light last week in which three eagles died and one is recovering from surgery.
“Three eagles were brought in to a local veterinarian,” Troy Sterling, conservation officer, said Friday. “Two of them had been shot. One was euthanized by the vet because of poor health. The other one, I think, is in surgery today to see if they can improve the mobility of the wing.”
A third eagle had contracted lead poisoning after ingesting lead while feeding on the carcass of an animal that had been shot. A fourth eagle was injured when it contacted a power line.
Ken Langelier, veterinarian, who treated the birds at Island Veterinary Hospital, said of the four eagles brought into his clinic, two had to be euthanized because they could not recover from their injuries and the lead-poisoned bird died.
“One that had been shot through the wing, it was through the middle of the bones, and it was trying to heal on its own, but it had developed such a large callous … we had to take the callous away so that the bones could heal properly,” Langelier said.
He estimated that bird’s injury was about four weeks old.
Shooting eagles is illegal and Sterling hopes a witness or someone with information will come forward to help identify a suspect.
“We’re hoping someone from the public will report, either a suspect or be able to identify a suspect because right now all we have is the two eagles,” Sterling said.
Sterling said hunters should also dispose of animal remains at a landfill if they are not certain they have removed all lead pellets or bullet fragments, which could poison animals that feed on the remains.
Anyone with information about the shootings, please call the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters) line at 1-877-952-7277 or #7277 on a cell phone or file a report online at www.env.gov.bc.ca/cos/rapp/form.htm.
