Hawk found fatally shot in Brockton

BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) — Local, state and federal officials are trying to track down the person who shot and killed a federally protected red-tailed hawk in Brockton.

E. Megan Hanrahan, animal inspector with the Board of Health, says the bird of prey was found late last month dead in a yard in an upscale part of the city.

A necropsy performed at the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth found the hawk had been shot in the chest with a .22-caliber pellet gun.

Hanrahan tells The Enterprise (http://bit.ly/1a0aYcB ) that whoever shot the bird faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $15,000 fine.

Hanrahan says the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Massachusetts Environmental Police are investigating.

She says hawks help keep control the rodent population.

___

Information from: The (Brockton, Mass.) Enterprise, http://www.enterprisenews.com

Cox Media Group