3 bald eagles die, 10 others fall sick after scavenging on euthanized animals dumped in landfill
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA: Three bald eagles died and 10 others are sick after eating the remains of animals that were euthanized with a death penalty drug and dumped on a Minnesota landfill site. State and federal wildlife officials are investigating after the majestic birds were found near the Pine Bend Landfill in the Minneapolis suburb of Inver Grove Heights. The University of Minnesota Raptor Center's executive director Victoria Hall said she is optimistic that the remaining 10 birds, which are in intensive care, will fully recover.
Hall added that Raptor Center workers were not sure if the birds were alive as some of them were lying motionless face down in the snow. The animals whose remains poisoned the eagles had previously been euthanized with pentobarbital. The drug is used by euthanasia doctors in some countries that permit assisted dying and by some executioners in the United States. According to The Minneapolis Star Tribune, investigators confirmed that some euthanized animals had been brought to the landfill on December 2 and veterinarians suspect that the eagles that died had eaten part of a carcass of an animal that had been euthanized with pentobarbital.
