HALLWOOD, VA – A Virginia man who admitted to killing 20 bald eagles has been sentenced to just one day in jail, along with two years of probation, 50 hours of community service, and a $9,800 fine—sparking outrage from wildlife advocates and raising serious questions about the enforcement of federal protections for America’s national bird, according to Animals 24-7.
William Curtis Smith, a duck hunter, believed juvenile red-shouldered hawks and bald eagles were interfering with his ability to attract ducks. According to the New York Post, he admitted he killed the birds because they were “killing all the ducks he was attracting to his impoundment.”
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (VDWR) was first alerted during the 2023–2024 waterfowl season after receiving an anonymous tip about a pole trap near a duck hunting impoundment owned by Smith in Hallwood. Investigators later discovered the body of a juvenile bald eagle at the site and seized it as evidence. Agents then installed a camera near the illegal trap, which captured several birds being killed—including one that struggled for more than seven hours before Smith beat it to death with a pole, according to court documents.
During a routine check to retrieve the camera’s memory card, investigators observed a pile of fish heads nearby surrounded by dead flies. Further investigation uncovered multiple dead raptors near fish heads laced with carbofuran, a neurotoxic pesticide banned in the U.S. since 2008 but still “easily and cheaply available.”
The use of carbofuran in raptor killings is not unprecedented. Travis John Branson of Cusick, Washington, who poached more than 3,600 bald eagles and other birds of prey for profit, was sentenced in October 2024 to 46 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $777,250 in restitution. Branson once noted that carbofuran “acts so quickly that the bird dies with whatever the bird was eating still in the bird’s claws.”
But unlike Branson, who acted out of financial motivation, Smith killed the birds purely for sport, making the leniency of his sentence even more baffling.
On March 31, 2023, Smith was interviewed and, according to authorities, “freely admitted to using the pole trap and to poisoning fish heads with carbofuran to kill in excess of 20 bald eagles and hawks—mostly red-shouldered and red-tailed hawks.” Smith was no stranger to VDWR. Brian Bratton, the Virginia conservation officer who led the investigation, noted the agency was “fairly familiar with [Smith],” having dealt with him before for prior waterfowl violations.
Smith was fully aware that his actions were illegal. Nevertheless, he justified them by claiming he was protecting ducks from predatory birds.
Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, condemned the sentence. “A single day in jail is no deterrent at all for people who disregard our wildlife protection and conservation laws,” Pacelle said. “This is a pathetic response to a serious case of poaching and cruelty.”
Smith’s lenient punishment also appears to defy the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which authorizes a penalty of up to $100,000 and a year in prison for a first offense. A second offense elevates the violation to a felony with harsher consequences, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
