A bald eagle was shot in Missouri. Whoever did it could face a $100,000 fine

A bald eagle was rescued in Missouri with what officials thought was a broken wing — but it turned out to be a bullet wound.

Now, investigators want to know who did it.

A landowner near Granville called the Missouri Department of Conservation on Thursday after discovering an injured bald eagle in their corn field, the Columbia Missourian reported. The adult female bird, now named Dorothy Parker, couldn’t fly — only hop.

After handing the eagle off to members of the University of Missouri’s Raptor Rehabilitation Project, veterinarians made a disturbing discovery: bullet fragments in Dorothy’s wing.

“It was hit in the ulna — a bone in its wing — and we’ll wrap the ulna and put her on anti-inflammatories,” Tracy Berry, a representative from the project, told the Springfield News-Leader.

Officials haven’t removed the bullet fragments from Dorothy’s wing for fear of causing more damage, WDAF reported.

Typically, eagles are treated for lead poisoning after eating other animals who’ve been shot, according to the news outlet, but Berry says this is the first eagle she’s seen with a bullet wound.

Only time will tell if the eagle will be able to fly again, but in the meantime, the Missouri Department of Conservation is trying to find the culprit, the News-Leader reported.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act was passed in 1940, making it a federal offense to shoot, wound, kill, capture or trap our national bird, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Anyone who shoots a bald eagle could be charged with a misdemeanor and face one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, according to the agency. A second offense becomes a felony and could saddle a shooter with a $250,000 fine and two years in prison.

Missouri Department of Conservation agent Sean Ernst says he hopes they can get to the bottom of it.

“It’s very gratifying knowing that we’re able to rescue such a regal animal,” Ernst told the Missourian. “We hope that we can apprehend the suspects and bring this case to a close.”

Granville is roughly 60 miles north of Columbia.

This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 8:54 AM with the headline "A bald eagle was shot in Missouri. Whoever did it could face a $100,000 fine."