This is the shocking image of more than 130 wedge-tailed eagles illegally poisoned in a mass-cull on farmland.
The environment department said on Tuesday that 136 of the dead eagles were found hidden throughout property in bushland and scrub in Tubbut in far eastern Victoria.
Charges are yet to be laid, but a person is helping investigators with their inquiries.
More than 130 wedge tailed eagles illegally poisoned in shocking cull on a farm (pictured)
Wedge-tailed eagles are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and deliberately killing them carries maximum penalties of $7,928.50, and/or up to six months’ jail, and an extra penalty of $792.85 for each bird destroyed.
The dead birds were found by officers from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).
A Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) spokesman told Daily Mail Australia that DELWP Officers were investigating the death of a number of Wedge-tailed Eagles and a further four protected species birds on farmland in east Gippsland.
‘DELWP is taking this matter very seriously.’
The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia’s largest raptor standing at one metre in height and with a wingspan that can reach up to 2.8m.
The dead birds were found by environment officers from the DELWP in Tubbut (pictured)
They were found throughout bushland and scrub in Victoria’s east Gippsland region (file image)
They prey on a range of animals including rabbits, mammals, lizards, possums, foxes and feral cats.
Wedge-tailed eagles
Wedge-tailed eagle in Tasmania (pictured)
- Australia’s largest raptor standing at one metre in height
- Wingspan that can reach up to 2.8m
- Prey on a range of animals including rabbits, mammals, lizards, possums, foxes and feral cats
- Known to kill their prey instantly
- The Wedge-tailed Eagle is found all around Australia and New Guinea
Source: DELWP
The birds are known to kill their prey instantly through a fast swooping motion, according to a fact sheet by DELWP.
Wildlife carer Rose Best told Daily Mail Australia: ‘I don’t understand. Australia doesn’t have a lot of eagles. Why poison them?’ Ms Best said.
The wildlife carer based in Pilbara in Western Australia said she was shocked by the mass bird killing.
‘It’s tragic. That’s massive. That’s deliberate,’ she said.
Ms Best said she’d refer to it as a ‘localised extinction’ due to the sheer number of eagles killed.
She said the impact of more than 100 wedge-tailed eagles being poisoned is huge on the ecosystem because they’re one of Australia’s largest predators.
‘The biggest thing is that it throws the environment out of balance just like we’ve seen with the cane toads.
‘It disturbs the balance of nature because they’re one of the biggest predators.’
A local community newspaper by Tubbut Neighbourhood House with a wedge-tailed eagle on its front cover (pictured)
More than 100 carcasses were found in Tubbut (pictured) in far eastern Victoria
When asked whether anyone would have a motive to deliberately kill the protected species, Ms Best said she’s not familiar with the East Gippsland environment but she said that sheep farmers don’t tend to like wedge-tail eagles because they often prey on their lambs.
Yet she said the eagles more commonly prey on animals like rabbits and foxes.
Ms Best was lost for words and questioned the humanity of the culprit.
‘When we lose our ability to care, we lose our humanity and when one intentionally kills and poison animals like that – you need to question that person’s humanity,’ she said.
Ms Best said wedge-tailed eagles are a protected species and hopes the person responsible is prosecuted.
(File image) A Department of Environment Land Water and Planning (DELWP) spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia ‘DELWP Officers are investigating the death of a number of Wedge-tailed Eagles on farmland in east Gippsland’
The dead wedge-tailed eagles were found by officers from the DELWP in Tubbut (pictured)
A farmer in the area is believed to have tipped off a former DELWP employee about the carcasses which were found on farmland in Tubbut.
This is not the first time that the wedge-tailed eagles have been targeted in the area.
East Gippsland wildlife carer Rena Gaborov told the ABC that people have purposefully placed toothed animal trips to hurt the birds in the past.
DELWP is calling on the community to contact Crimestoppers if they have any information to report on 1800 333 000.