A bald eagle was found dead on a rural property in Brush Prairie, Washington, this past February. A veterinarian who examined the bird found two shotgun pellets lodged in its brain. A neighbor reported hearing a gunshot the same day the eagle was discovered.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents investigated and have charged Benjamin Allen, the 66 year old property owner who kept chickens near where the eagle turned up, under two federal wildlife laws: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Allen is due in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on September 8, 2026, and has not yet been convicted.

Bald eagles were taken off the endangered species list back in 2007, but they are still protected by federal law. Killing one on purpose can mean prison time and heavy fines, exactly because these birds nearly disappeared once and the country agreed never to let that happen again.

This case matters beyond one Washington backyard. 

Everyone who cares about protecting the eagle, whether they see it as a conservation symbol or as a promise this country made and needs to keep, should want this case handled seriously and fairly, with the full weight of the law behind it if the charges are proven.

Sign this petition to call on federal prosecutors to pursue this case fully and make clear that killing a protected bald eagle carries real consequences.