A golden eagle, a rare and highly protected bird of prey, has been found dead near Limfjord in west Jutland, reports DR.
According to the Danish Ornithological Society (DOF), the bird was shot and at least 20 pellets were found in its body.
DOF has therefore notified the local police.
Shot on purpose
Knud Flensted, a biologist at DOF, confirmed the perpetrator must have killed the eagle on purpose because the shots were fired at close range and the pellets were in close proximity to one another.
“It is shameful, sad and very troubling that there are still people who are driven by a hatred for birds of prey and who would shoot a protected and very rare eagle,” Flensted told DR.
The golden eagle was barely seven years old and of a breeding age.
It was ringed in May 2009 in Hals Nørreskov near Aalborg, one of three main breeding sites in Denmark.
