Waterfowl Hunter Busted for Killing Over 20 Birds of Prey

A Virginia waterfowl hunter has been fined nearly $10,000 for killing at least 20 birds of prey in 2023, including a bald eagle.

William Custis Smith of Accomack County had built a pond on his property to attract ducks, but he wasn’t the only hunter interested in this spot: the hawks and eagles in the area were taking a higher toll on waterfowl numbers than he could tolerate.

To eliminate the competition, Smith laced dead fish with a banned neurotoxin called carbofuran and set those fish out for the raptors to eat, killing several hawks and at least one eagle.

When Virginia Conservation Police Master Officer Brian Bratton conducted his initial inspection of Smith’s property, he suspected a juvenile bald eagle carcass he saw on the ground had been poisoned.

“This particular poison acts so quickly that nine times out of 10 when an eagle, hawk or whatever eats something, it acts so quickly that they die with whatever they’re eating still in their claws,” Bratton said. “It’s hard to explain, but they have just a certain look about them, the body posture. Once you’ve seen it once or twice, you can almost tell that’s what to suspect.”

Smith was not satisfied with these results, however, and went even further, setting leg-hold traps on elevated platforms to catch more raptors, then climbing up and bludgeoning the birds to death with a pole.

Federal law prohibits killing hawks and eagles in the United States, so the US Fish and Wildlife Service was brought in and collected further evidence of the crimes, including the carcass of a poisoned eagle and video of Smith clubbing trapped birds.

When faced with this evidence, Smith readily admitted to his crimes and surrendered a can of carbofuran.

“We’re fairly familiar with the guy. We’d dealt with him before on some waterfowl violations,” Bratton explained. “He showed us what was going on and told us what he was doing and why he was doing it. He was killing the hawks and eagles because they were killing all the ducks he was attracting to his impoundment. It was the time of year when hawks are migrating through. And in very late winter, the food supply really gets short, so these birds are looking for prey.”

“He was very aware it was illegal, but in his mind, the ends justified the means, because he’s getting rid of the predatory birds to protect the ducks,” Bratton continued. “That many hawks and eagles is pretty significant, so I feel like it’s a win for protecting the resource from further loss.”

Smith pleaded guilty to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which can carry penalties of up to $100,000 and a year in prison, though Smith’s plea bargain reduced his sentence.

Along with the $10,000 fine, Smith will serve one day in jail, do 50 hours of community service, and be on probation for two years.

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