Bald eagle shot near Vonroe

[Sam1]

FWS is looking into it, $10k reward on a conviction.

 

https://www.facebook.com/usfwssoutheast

 

Looks like they clipped in on the wing

 

[Garufa]

Anyone who shoots a Bald Eagle, or any other bird of prey should have:

 

1)  hunting privileges revoked for life.

2)  be banned from owning a firearm for life.

3)  to forfeit whatever equipment, vehicles and clothing worn during the incident.

3)  to pay a fine equal to rescuing 20 other birds of the same species.

 

Not necessarily because it's the "national bird"...Benjamin Franklin himself referred to the Bald Eagle as being "of low moral character"....but it's still the emblem of this country and there is absolutely no reason to kill one.  There is no justification whatsoever.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Garufa

[tyguy]

Amen.

[R_Bert]

Anyone who shoots a Bald Eagle, or any other bird of prey should have:

 

1)  hunting privileges revoked for life.

2)  be banned from owning a firearm for life.

3)  to forfeit whatever equipment, vehicles and clothing worn during the incident.

4)  to pay a fine equal to rescuing 20 other birds of the same species.

5)  publically shamed and scorned by all available means of  media.

6)  caned on the courthouse steps.

7)  released, naked, to run home in humiliation.

 

Not necessarily because it's the "national bird"...Benjamin Franklin himself referred to the Bald Eagle as being "of low moral character"....but it's still the emblem of this country and there is absolutely no reason to kill one.  There is no justification whatsoever.

Edited January 31, 2015 by R_Bert

[Garufa]

I agree with the caning but being publicly shamed won't do much for for ignorant, back-asswards, mouth-breathing scum.

[Sam1]

Outside of the moron that shot it, you have to admit that bird is bad ass.  It's been shot, a guy has it in a choke hold and it still looks like it wants to go F some stuff up.

[felinesNfreedom]

There is a point I fish on Lake Guntersville that has a big dead tree that they nest in every spring. Every time I fish it it amazes me how big they are, the nest is huge. I always thought that if they decided to bombard me I would just have to jump in and hide under the edge of the boat. 

[A.J. Holst]

Outside of the moron that shot it, you have to admit that bird is bad ass.  It's been shot, a guy has it in a choke hold and it still looks like it wants to go F some stuff up.

 

I'd like to see him eff up the sad sack who winged him, that would be an awesome "when animals attack" episode.

 

I would pony up for some pay per view to see it.

Edited January 31, 2015 by Gotthegoods

[Grand Torino]

What kind of asshole does something like that?

[Lumber_Jack]

What kind of asshole does something like that?

Im never really shocked at how shit-ty people really are, spend 5 mins in public, it's rampant.

[runco]

I live here in Vonore, and just recently heard about this.  It actually happened a few months back.  There are several eagles on or around the lake, and with us being close to the mountains.  There are some real winners around here if you know what I mean.  You should see the first Friday night of the new month at Walmart!  Just Wow!

[10-Ring]

That area is beautiful, it would be my ideal place to live if it were not for the other people that live there (No offense Runco,) Monroe County is certainly a front runner for Ignorant Redneck Capitol of Tennessee.  

[peejman]

My wife volunteers with a local raptor rehabber. They see all kinds of strange things. People can be exceedingly ignorant.

[enfield]

That's one big chicken!

[Jonnin]

Just people being people, unfortunately.  Casual meanness -- you see this in a lot of people ...  let me swerve to hit that thing in the road, hey a bird ill shoot at it,  an animal, lets kill it.... there are people that kill just for the joy of it, and don't eat ANY of the animal.  

[tennesseetiger]

That bird could seriously f*ck your world up...

[E4 No More]

Anyone who shoots a Bald Eagle, or any other bird of prey should have:

 

1)  hunting privileges revoked for life.

2)  be banned from owning a firearm for life.

3)  to forfeit whatever equipment, vehicles and clothing worn during the incident.

3)  to pay a fine equal to rescuing 20 other birds of the same species.

 

Not necessarily because it's the "national bird"...Benjamin Franklin himself referred to the Bald Eagle as being "of low moral character"....but it's still the emblem of this country and there is absolutely no reason to kill one.  There is no justification whatsoever.

Isn't a Black Vulture considered a bird of prey, and don't the livestock owners hate those #%&$ things because they blind their cattle and kill the calves?

 

I do share the sentiment against those who would harm an eagle or hawk for the giggles of it.

[Clod Stomper]

That area is beautiful, it would be my ideal place to live if it were not for the other people that live there (No offense Runco,) Monroe County is certainly a front runner for Ignorant Redneck Capitol of Tennessee.

I'm glad for that perception, however erroneous it may be. Helps keep the urban riffraff and northern interlopers away.

Edited to remove unnecessary snark. Edited February 2, 2015 by Clod Stomper

[peejman]

Isn't a Black Vulture considered a bird of prey, and don't the livestock owners hate those #%&$ things because they blind their cattle and kill the calves?

 

I do share the sentiment against those who would harm an eagle or hawk for the giggles of it.

 

 

Yes, a black vulture is considered a bird of prey.  Blinding cattle and killing calves... not likely.  Eating the eyes out of already dead ones, likely. 

[tennesseetiger]

I'm glad for that perception, however erroneous it may be. Helps keep the urban riffraff and northern interlopers away.

Edited to remove unnecessary snark.

:rofl:

[E4 No More]

Yes, a black vulture is considered a bird of prey.  Blinding cattle and killing calves... not likely.  Eating the eyes out of already dead ones, likely. 

The local news did a report interviewing ranchers about the problems with the black vultures and how they are a protected, and the ranchers were who made that claim. They said that while the cow was giving birth the vultures would blind her and then go after the calf upon its birth. I'm not a rancher, so I don't know, but it sounded reasonable to me. I know they are all over the place around here, so with that many beaks to feed they all can't be patiently waiting on a branch for something to die. :shrug:

[fourteentwo]

Yes, a black vulture is considered a bird of prey. Blinding cattle and killing calves... not likely. Eating the eyes out of already dead ones, likely.

Growing up in a dairy, my job was to keep the vultures off the newborn calves.
They do kill calves, I have seen it: they come down on it from different angles and fly off when the mother charges at them, eventually she gets exhausted and cannot fight them off anymore. They poke at the umbilical stump and the rectum of the calf and wait for it to die, the whole thing takes about 6 hours, 10-20 vultures doing it.
I tried slingshot, BB guns, rocks etc but as soon as I left they'd come back, someone had to be there all the time when we had a fresh calf.
Finally my dad let me at them with my 39A. I would get called whenever the vultures would land in a tree next to the neonate pen, I'd shoot one and leave it there, none would come back for at least a week, after a while they stopped landing in that tree at all but anywhere else there was a dead animal you'd see a healthy population of vultures. I wasn't allowed to shoot them but in that tree.

[peejman]

The local news did a report interviewing ranchers about the problems with the black vultures and how they are a protected, and the ranchers were who made that claim. They said that while the cow was giving birth the vultures would blind her and then go after the calf upon its birth. I'm not a rancher, so I don't know, but it sounded reasonable to me. I know they are all over the place around here, so with that many beaks to feed they all can't be patiently waiting on a branch for something to die. :shrug:

 

 

Interesting.  Google tells me its large groups of them, I was thinking of a single bird.  One might think that's what cowboys are for.  There's all manner of predators out there that would be happy to munch on a newborn calf. 

 

In general black vultures are one of the more intelligent birds and hence can be both aggressive and destructive. 

[E4 No More]

Interesting.  Google tells me its large groups of them, I was thinking of a single bird.  One might think that's what cowboys are for.  There's all manner of predators out there that would be happy to munch on a newborn calf. 

 

In general black vultures are one of the more intelligent birds and hence can be both aggressive and destructive. 

Yeah, the ranchers were basically calling BS on their protected status, and in this case I tend to agree with them. They are more prevalent than wolves and eagles...at least around here.

[peejman]

Yeah, the ranchers were basically calling BS on their protected status, and in this case I tend to agree with them. They are more prevalent than wolves and eagles...at least around here.

 

I'd say the protected status is simply because they're a member of the raptor family and has nothing to do with numbers.  The little I read seemed to indicate that a cattle owner just needed to contact their local wildlife or USDA agent and get a permit to kill them.