-Anyone with information about alleged shootings asked to call police-

OSOYOOS TIMES-December 10, 2008-

By Karen KnelsenrnOsoyoos Times

A Willow Beach resident said that a family of bald eagles nesting in a tree within sight of her front door has been shot at and terrorized.
I've been hearing gunfire for over a month now, said Susan Shendaruk. It was the last week of November and one day I heard three or four rifle shots and they were quite close.rnShe said that a family of six bald eagles has been nesting in a nearby tree and she was in the habit of sitting on her deck in the morning and watching the birds.
The morning after she heard the shots, however, Shendaruk noticed the birds were suddenly gone.
There were no eagles there. I thought 'Well that's odd.'rnA while later she ran into one of her neighbours.
I said 'The eagles are gone, where did they go?' Shendaruk said.
The neighbour, who asked not to be identified for fear of retribution from the shooters and people she says the shooters work for, told Shendaruk the eagles had been shot.
Those people are not the kind you mess with, the woman told the Osoyoos Times. It's too dangerous.
She said she was walking along the shore of Osoyoos Lake when she found evidence of the shooting.
We came across the two dead eagles on the beach, the woman said. It was about two weeks ago. I was appalled.
She said she heard from another in the area, who she also refused to identify, that the birds had been harassing some horses in a neighbouring field.
The woman called the scenario utter nonsense, saying the birds wouldn't pick on any animal more than a half-size larger than them.
She also said someone in the area who works for the people she suspects of killing the birds is responsible for having disposed of the corpses at the dump later on the same day she came across them.
They disappeared, she said.
The birds were shot with a hunting rifle of some sort, the woman said.
It was a hunting rifle with a scope. When I found the birds, they were not hit with buckshot, she said. It was a single shell.
She said one of the birds was a juvenile, younger than the other.
It was absolutely unbelievable.
She didn't report the incident to the police because, she said, she feared for her safety.
Shendaruk, however, chose not to report the crime because she didn't see it happen and wasn't sure what she could offer to an investigation.
Osoyoos RCMP detachment commander Staff Sgt. Kurt Lozinski said unless a crime gets reported, there's nothing the police can do about it.
He wasn't aware of the alleged shootings until the Times called, but he encourages anyone who has information on the killing of the birds, which are protected under the Endangered Species Act, to come forward.
He said the maximum penalty for a person or persons found guilty of harming an animal registered under the act is six months in prison and/or a $2,000 fine.
However, because of the area the crime is alleged to have happened in, there may also be opportunity for charges under the Canadian Criminal Code Firearms Act for illegally discharging a weapon and endangering people in an unregulated area.
He said the penalty for that crime can be up to 10 years in jail.
As soon as you discharge a weapon, you are responsible for that projectile, he said.
Lozinski said he understands the safety concerns of the woman who asked not to be identified, but suggested that standing together with neighbours could offer protection.
He added that if the police are aware of any acts of retribution for the reporting of a crime, they will do everything they can to offer protection.
He urges anyone who knows anyone about the alleged crime to come forward to the RCMP.
South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program co-ordinator Bryn White said anyone with information on the shootings can anonymously call the Report All Polluters and Poachers line toll-free at 1-877-952-7277.
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