Two illegal Honduran migrants are arrested after shooting down a bald eagle that they planned to cook and EAT in Nebraska – as sheriff reveals the local community is in ‘uproar’
- Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin, 20 and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, illegal Honduran migrants living in Nebraska, were cited for a misdemeanor
- The men who allegedly killed the bald eagle February 28 on private property, told deputies they had planned to eat the protected national bird
- The men are set to appear in court in April with more serious charges possible
A community in Nebraska is in an uproar after two illegal Honduran migrants allegedly killed an American bald eagle with the intention of eating it.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger said the incident has upset many community members and is calling on federal authorities to take action, but told ‘Fox & Friends First’ on Monday that he has yet to get an answer.
The sheriff’s office cited Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin, 20 and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, both of Norfolk, Nebraska, for unlawful possession of the eagle, a misdemeanor, which is the ‘most we can do,’ Unger said.
Killing is bald eagle is a violation of the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a federal law that carries a punishment of up to one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both, for a first offense, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
But the federal authorities must bring those charges, Unger said, adding that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has not responded to him.
The men, who were cited and released, are scheduled to appear in court in April and more serious charges are possible. According to Nebraska law, the suspects can’t be held in jail before their court appearance, The Free Beacon reported.
Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin, 20 and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, were cited after allegedly killing a bald eagle but Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger is calling on the feds to take action
Killing is bald eagle is a violation of the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a federal law that carries a punishment of up to one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both, for a first offense. But the federal authorities must bring those charges, Unger said
Deputies with the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a suspicious vehicle on private property in the Wood Duck Recreation Area – about 100 miles north of Omaha, on February 28.
They found two men in possession of a dead American Bald eagle, according to the release.
An investigation revealed that the men, who were both nationals from Honduras, had shot and killed the eagle and had said they planned on cooking and eating it.
Unger said the eagle was shot on private property, which upset the property owners, who had called the authorities to report the suspicious vehicle.
‘We find this very alarming, I’m sure nationwide, but locally it’s been very alarming to the citizens,’ Unger said.
While the men were only cited for unlawful possession of the eagle, causing an uproar in the community, Unger said more serious charges are possible.
‘People locally that I’ve talked to are quite upset, and they wish for something to be done. And the federal government is the one that really has the authority and the ability to prosecute these gentlemen to the highest degree,’ he said. ‘I have tried [to call] numerous times and I have yet to speak to a human.’
An investigation revealed that the men, who were both nationals from Honduras, had shot and killed the eagle with this airsoft rifle and had said they planned on cooking and eating it
Unger said the men spoke no English and that it was not clear if the men understood that bald eagles are protected under federal law
Unger said the men spoke no English and that it was not clear if the men understood that bald eagles are protected under federal law.
‘I’m trying to be as politically correct as possible when I say this, but I don’t know what kind of third-world life they’re coming from, but it must have been pretty bad,’ Unger told the outlet.
Their only form of identification were documents from the Honduran consulate, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
‘Their actions would lead us to believe that they probably didn’t realize (the birds are protected) — at least not protected as much as it would be, as our national bird,’ he said.
Nebraska Game and Parks was contacted and took custody of the eagle, along with the rifle that was used to kill the bird.
The eagle had been shot with an airsoft rifle that Unger said could have been bought with cash and that an ID was not needed to purchase the weapon.
‘Again, people locally that I’ve talked to are quite upset, and they wish something could be done,’ he said. ‘And the federal government is the one that really has the authority and the ability to prosecute these gentlemen to the highest degree.’
The population of American bald eagles faced a decline due to hunting and habitat loss, but there have been conservation efforts and the banning of insecticide DDT in 1972, which has led to the bird being removed from the Endangered Species Act in 2007.
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