ROANOKE, Va. – It was a sad Christmas Eve for the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center.
Center officials said a nine-and-a-half-pound bald eagle was brought in with a gunshot wound.
According to the center, the eagle was found on private property in Wythe County.
We’re told the eagle was shot about a week prior and was surviving off of deer carcasses.
The eagle’s wing was broken and later died from her injuries.
The Wildlife Center said the bird was shot with a rifle and that the incident probably wasn’t accidental.
“There’s no other animal you’re going to mistake for a bald eagle and shoot by accident, nothing else looks like that or is anywhere near that size,” Chester Leonard said. “The eagle is our national symbol and the fact that someone would actually just go out there and shoot it is appalling, it’s unspeakable.”
Center staff are asking anyone with information about who shot the eagle to call the Department of Wildlife Resources. Find contact information here.