A bald eagle shot near a rural intersection in Vermilion Parish has still not led investigators to a suspect eight months later, and the reward for information has now climbed to $20,000. The bird was found mortally wounded near the intersection of Robert Road and Wilmer Road outside Erath on December 5, 2025, and died shortly after wildlife agents arrived on scene.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries was notified about the injured eagle that day and its personnel located and captured the bird before taking it in for examination, according to WVUE. The bird was later sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a more extensive necropsy, and officials determined the eagle suffered a fatal injury consistent with a gunshot wound. The discovery site sits near Lake Peigneur, a rural wetland area on the border of Vermilion and Iberia parishes, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
Reward Has More Than Tripled Since January
Wildlife officials first publicized the case in January with a $6,000 reward, a figure Hoodline reported on at the time in our earlier coverage. That amount rose to $15,000 in early February and has now reached $20,000 as of Monday, per the Center for Biological Diversity, which says the steady increase reflects conservation groups expanding their financial pledges amid a lack of definitive leads. The current total includes $13,000 from the Center for Biological Diversity, $3,500 from Humane World for Animals, $2,500 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and up to $1,000 from Louisiana Operation Game Thief, according to WVUE.
Both the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are investigating the shooting. The public can report information through the Louisiana Operation Game Thief hotline at 1-800-442-2511, through LDWF's tip411 program by texting LADWF followed by the tip to 847411, or through the free LDWF Tips app, per WVUE. Tips submitted through the hotline or tip411 program allow informants to remain anonymous while still qualifying for reward money, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
A Protected Species Still at Risk
Killing a bald eagle is a federal violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and a conviction can carry up to a $5,000 fine and one year in jail, along with a civil restitution fine of up to $5,000, according to WVUE. Separately, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes that a first-offense misdemeanor conviction under the act carries statutory penalties of up to one year in prison and fines as high as $100,000 for individuals, while felony prosecutions under that law and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act carry maximum penalties of up to two years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, per the Center for Biological Diversity.
Actual sentences in comparable cases have landed well short of those maximums. In a similar case this month, a Texas man was sentenced to 14 days in federal prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to shooting a bald eagle in his backyard, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. That defendant had hidden the injured bird under a tarp in his garage before federal agents intervened and veterinarians were forced to euthanize it, the Justice Department said. Louisiana has also seen prior enforcement action: a North Louisiana resident was cited in Claiborne Parish in January 2020 for illegally shooting and killing a bald eagle alongside other wildlife violations, according to KTBS.
Why One Bird Matters to a Recovering Population
The case underscores a tension in the state's wildlife recovery story. Louisiana's bald eagle population has climbed from a historic low of just five breeding pairs in 1970 — before the pesticide DDT was banned federally in 1972 — to more than 350 year-round breeding pairs today, per the Center for Biological Diversity. The state also serves as a crucial wintering ground, hosting roughly 2,900 nesting pairs from September through spring and ranking second only to Florida in total eagle nest count, according to the Center's earlier findings reported by World Animal News.
Despite that rebound, bald eagles remain classified as a State Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Louisiana because of ongoing hazards such as lead ammunition ingestion, fishing line entanglement, and habitat loss from saltwater intrusion, the Center for Biological Diversity notes. That designation is part of why investigators are still pressing for tips eight months after the Erath shooting, even as the reward money climbs well past its original total.
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