WICHITA, KAN. – A man from Rush County, Kan., has pleaded guilty to killing a golden eagle and been sentenced to 50 hours of community service, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Chad L. Irvin, 35, La Crosse, Kan., pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of taking a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). In his plea, he admitted he knowingly killed a golden eagle on Jan. 9 near Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Trego County. Irvin was coyote hunting from his truck when he spotted the eagle and shot it twice with a Remington shotgun. He saw the bird fall.

Two days later, the injured eagle was reported to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, which recovered the bird in southeast Trego County. The bird was taken to the department’s regional office in Hays and then to the zoo in Great Bend for veterinary care. The bird’s legs were paralyzed by the shot and the animal had to be euthanized.

In addition to community service hours working with hunter education, Irvin will serve three years on supervised probation during which he cannot hunt, fish, trap, guide or accompany anyone engaged in those activities. He also must pay a $5,000 fine, as well as $3,000 in restitution, including $2,500 to the state and $500 to the veterinarian who treated the bird. He also forfeits the shotgun.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Treaster prosecuted.

 

 

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