Washington man charged in shotgun killing of bald eagle
Federal prosecutors in Washington state have charged a 66-year-old Clark County man in the shotgun killing of a bald eagle in Brush Prairie, saying the bird was found with two shotgun pellets in its brain.
On Tuesday, Benjamin G. Allen was charged with violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and unlawfully killing a migratory bird, both federal misdemeanors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.
The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 5, 2026. Wildlife officers responded to the rural community of Brush Prairie after someone reported hearing a gunshot, prosecutors said. When they arrived, they found a dead bald eagle with the ground around its head stained with blood. A veterinary exam later revealed two shotgun pellets in the bird's brain, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Allen, who investigators say kept chickens not far from the site, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in early September. If convicted, he faces up to a year in prison and a $500,000 fine on the eagle-protection charge, and up to six months and a $5,000 fine on the migratory bird charge.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife investigated the case.
Bald eagles, once on the brink of extinction, have made a dramatic recovery across the country and were removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007. They remain protected under federal law, which makes it illegal to shoot, kill, or disturb the birds without a permit. The case underscores that even after a successful recovery, the killing of a bald eagle is treated as a serious violation.
Eagle enthusiasts have also turned many nests into live online events. Bald eagle pairs typically mate for life and return to their nests each year, and some have drawn millions of viewers as their chicks hatch on webcams. One of the best-known is Jackie, a bald eagle who rose to fame on Big Bear Valley's Big Bear Eagle Nest Cam and has been recovering at a California raptor center following a July 17 altercation with two juvenile eagles.
While bald eagles are effective hunters with sharp talons and superior eyesight, they will also scavenge and occasionally prey on free-ranging chickens, according to BackYardChickens.com.
He is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.