Philippine eagle shot dead in Albay

MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine hawk eagle, locally known as lawin, died after being shot by a still unidentified person in Camalig town in Albay Tuesday afternoon.

Regie Imperial, 37, a driver, found the eagle with a bullet wound in the left side of the chest in the mountainous area of Barangay Tingao at around 3 p.m., Sr. Insp. Maria Luisa Calubaquib, spokesman for the Bicol region police, said.

Calubaquib said they turned the eagle over to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) office in Albay for treatment. But the hawk died.

Authorities said the bird could have been shot between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. as the wound was still fresh when the eagle was brought in.

Reports said the hawk had a wingspan of at least one meter, weighed two kilos and was around a year old.

Calubaquib said they would conduct a probe to trace the origin of the bird.

In August 2014, a Philippine hawk eagle was shot dead in a forest in Sto. Domingo town in Albay.

The DENR appealed to the public, especially those who shoot birds and wild animals for fun, to stop this kind of activity and warned that they could be held liable for killing endangered species.

Under Republic Act 9147 or the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act, a person caught in possession of vulnerable species can be fined from P10,000 to P200,000 and jailed for one day up to six months.

If found guilty of killing of endangered species, the offender can be imprisoned for two to four years and be made to pay a fine of P30,000 to P300,000.