Bald eagle found mutilated in Richmond, missing talons and beak

By Martin van den Hemel - Richmond Review

Published: April 29, 2009 2:00 PM

The carcass of an adult bald eagle was found Saturday morning near Iona
Island Regional Park at the northwest tip of Sea Island, stuffed in a
transparent plastic bag with its talons and beak missing.

Richard Singleton was out walking his Golden Retriever when his dog began
sniffing in the vicinity where logs are sorted before being cleaned, he told
The Richmond Review Wednesday.

"In looking at it, there were no talons and the beak had been cut off," he
said. "It was a mature eagle. It had the white head, and the dark markings."

Singleton came across a park ranger and told him of the discovery, while two
women who had also been in the area called Richmond RCMP.

The eagle's body was about a half-metre long.

"I'm out there all the time, looking at the birds and the wildlife, and it
was disgusting," Singleton said of the discovery.

Singleton fears the talons and beak might be sold for trophies on the black
market.

In February 2005, a dog walker found 26 mutilated bald eagles in the woods
near North Vancouver's Tsleil-Waututh Reserve which had their talons and
tail feathers removed. Another 22 eagles turned up in North Vancouver.
Nearly a dozen people were eventually charged, but one trafficker received
just a $1,450 fine and pleading guilty.

Richmond RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Pound said investigators believe the bald
eagle's carcass had been there for some time based on the level of
decomposition of the eagle, and the weathered and torn nature of the plastic
bag. A pair of discarded rubber gloves was also found close by, suggesting
that poachers were involved.

The B.C. Report-a-Poachers Line was contacted, and Canadian Wildlife
Services is aware of the discovery.

Under B.C.'s Wildlife Act, poaching can result in fines of up to $50,000 or
six months in jail for a first offence.

Trafficking in eagle parts can lead to a one year jail sentence and a
$100,000 fine. Under federal legislation, exporting parts can result in five
years in jail and a $150,000 fine.

Anyone with information about the bald eagle is asked to call the Richmond
RCMP at 604-278-1212.

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