Osprey, hawk and pelicans illegally killed in eastern Idaho

Courtesy Idaho Department of Fish and Game
PRESTON — Idaho Department of Fish and Game officers are looking for information about the illegal killing of four non-game birds in Franklin County.
Between late April and early May, two pelicans were shot and left in Glendale Reservoir outside of Preston, according to an IDFG news release. In two separate incidents, an osprey and a Swainson’s hawk were shot near Preston’s city-owned water tanks off of Glendale Road.
It is both against state and federal laws to kill protected non-game birds with four exceptions: European starlings, Eurasian-collared doves, house sparrows, and rock pigeons. These species are nonnative and can be taken outside city limits year-round with a hunting license, according to the release.
“I don’t think people realize that birds like pelicans, raptors, shorebirds, songbirds, magpies—nearly every non-game bird species in Idaho are protected,” Fish and Game Senior Conservation Office Nathan Stohosky said in the release. “Whatever the motive for killing these particular birds, the acts were illegal and disrespectful to our wildlife resource.”
Anyone with information about the incidents is encouraged to contact Stohosky at (208) 221-4513 or Citizens Against Poaching at 1 (800) 632-5999. A reward is offered for information about the killings. Callers can remain anonymous.

Courtesy Idaho Department of Fish and Game
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Source: eastidahonews.com