Wildlife officials in Louisiana are offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction over the shooting of a bald eagle, America's national bird, in a case that has drawn national attention given the species' protected status and symbolic importance. The eagle was found injured on 5 December 2025 near Vermilion Parish and later died from a gunshot wound, prompting a joint investigation by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The reward has been pooled from several organisations, including the Center for Biological Diversity, the Humane World for Animals, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Louisiana Operation Game Thief. Killing a bald eagle is a federal offence under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, carrying penalties of up to a $5,000 fine, a year in jail and a further $5,000 civil restitution. Bald eagle numbers, once as low as 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states by 1963 due to pesticides and habitat loss, have since recovered, but officials are urging anyone with information to contact the Louisiana Operation Game Thief hotline or submit tips via the LDWF app.