Farmer pleads guilty to wildlife violation for killing Bald Eagle

CLEVELAND (WJER) (June 21, 2022) – A Dover man has agreed to pay the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service $10,000 and forfeit his hunting license for five years for shooting and killing a Bald Eagle last fall.

The payment and forfeiture are part of a plea deal between U.S. District Attorneys and 79-year-old David Huff, who pleaded guilty today to a bill of information charging him with violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. According to court documents, Huff shot and killed the bird with a rifle on Oct. 7^th while inspecting farmland he owns for the presence of pests and rodents, then discarded it in the tree line of a bordering field.

Huff has also agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and to let the Wildlife Service destroy the rifle and ammunition it seized during the investigation. He’s scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 11^th.

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