On April 3, 2015, the Conservation Officer Service (COS) received a report of several eagles being found in garbage bags in a ditch on North Bonaparte Road east of 70 Mile House.
Sgt. Len Butler, who is now the Conservation Officer Service Inspector for the Thompson Cariboo Region, said an unknown perpetrator or perpetrators illegally shot a quantity of eagles and then bagged the dead birds and ditched them near 70 Mile House.
During the investigation, 100 Mile House CO James Zucchelli said the province’s veterinary lab was performing necropsies to determine the cause of death for each of the 10 dead raptors.
He said they looked like they were tossed from a vehicle into a deep ditch, so they were in the bush, which led him to believe there was more than one person involved.
The carcasses were in garbage bags scattered about 200 metres apart in one area, Zucchelli said, adding they ranged from freshly-killed (five birds) to a few weeks old to up to about three months deceased.
One was confirmed as a golden eagle, which are not that common around here, he noted.
On Thursday (March 24), Cariboo Zone Sgt. Jeff Tyre of the COS office in Williams Lake said the BC Wildlife Federation has just posted a notice offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for killing and dumping several bald eagles in the 70 Mile House.
Noting it is a year-old file, Tyre said the “file has basically gone quiet, so it’s a cold file.”
“Someone out there knows something, so there is a monetary value attached to it and we hope someone will come forward and give us some insight into this.
“We’re looking for any information; basically we have no leads to follow up on at this time. We’re looking for anything from the public that can shed some light on it.”
Tyre said the posters have just gone up and the COS believes it’s in the public’s interest to deal with this matter.
“It’s important to us; it’s important to the public; and the BC Wildlife Federation feels it’s important enough to put forward a reward.”
People with any information on this or any other fish and wildlife violation can anonymously call 1-877952-7277 (RAPP); cell phone – dial #7277; or go to www.rapp.bc.ca.
