Nebraska officials say a pair of migrants shot and killed a North American bald eagle - a protected animal and the national emblem of the United States - with the intention of eating the bird.
"Two Honduran nationals, Ramiro Hernandez-Tziquin, 20 and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, 20, both of Norfolk were cited for unlawful possession of the eagle. Hernandez-Tziquin was also cited for having No Drivers License," the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release on Feb. 28.
The sheriff’s office said officials responded to an area near the Wood Duck Recreation Area, which is about 100 miles northeast of Omaha, last Tuesday over a report of a suspicious vehicle. Authorities located the vehicle and found the two suspects with a dead bald eagle. The pair planned to cook and eat the bird, according to the sheriff’s press release.
Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger said the migrants spoke no English, and their only form of identification was documents from the Honduran consulate, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
"I’m trying to be as politically correct as possible when I say this, but I don’t know what kind of third-world life they’re coming from, but it must have been pretty bad," Unger told the outlet. He added that his office will not release photos of the dead bird because such photos are "very graphic" and show "lots of blood."
The migrants were arrested but have since been released. The federal government could have kept the pair in jail, but Unger’s calls to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - which would be the federal agency to bring charges against someone for violating the 1940 Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act - have gone unanswered.
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"I’m very frustrated with the federal government," Unger told the Free Beacon.
Unger joined "Fox & Friends First" on Monday and said that he has reached out to the feds "numerous times" and has "yet to speak to a human" about the crime.
"We have cited them for a simple misdemeanor in Nebraska, which is the most that we can do," the sheriff added. "They’re scheduled to appear on April 25."
Residents of the Nebraska community have meanwhile found the incident "very alarming," according to the sheriff.
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"Again, people locally that I've talked to are quite upset, and they wish something could be done. And the federal government is the one that really has the authority and the ability to prosecute these gentlemen to the highest degree," Unger said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday but did not immediately receive a reply.
