PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A heated confrontation between a Pinellas County homeowner and his neighbor has angered the community over the shooting of a protected bird.
The exchange came after the 42-year-old neighbor shot a heron, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
The video begins with the initiator approaching the neighbor, who was standing next to a lifeless Great Blue Heron floating in his pool.
“You’re f****** shooting these birds,” the man said. “That’s f****** illegal!”
FWC officers responded to the home on April 12 and found the dead heron and a dead mallard duck in the homeowner’s yard. The agency said the man told them he shot the birds with a pellet gun to keep them away from his pool.
The man recording the video did not want to go on camera, but wanted to bring attention to the situation.
Here’s an exchange from the video between the two men:
“I heard you talking about it when you were here in December,” said the initiator
“No I said I was going to try to get em away,” said the 42-year-old.
“You moved into the birds house, you cannot kill the animals that live here,” said the initiator.
The accused bird shooter was cited for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and was issued a notice to appear in court.
“My best advice is if you don’t want to have great blue herons on your property, don’t move to a place where great blue herons live,” said Charlotte Arndt, an education coordinator at Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. “Removing any one bird from the area especially during mating season can have a devastating effect on the babies. Of course both parents contribute to the nest but taking one of those parents away takes a lot of the resources away which makes it less likely that all the eggs that hatch are going to become fledged adults.”
The sanctuary is about 10 minutes from where the incident happened. The vice president of the Clearwater Audubon Society, Kim Begay, said the 42-year-old could’ve reached out to them, the sanctuary, or FWC for help.
“It’s not that hard to deter them,” said Begay. “You can install motion activated sprinklers, you can actually just bang a pot really loud when you see the bird in your backyard.”
Begay said misdemeanor charges could come from this situation, and asks people to think about what they are doing.
“If you have a problem like this, reach out. Please don’t just start shooting. It’s not the way to go,” said Begay.
The Audubon Society also recommends getting law enforcement involved before confronting a neighbor on a problem.
The 42-year-old is heard apologizing on camera.
“You are not welcome here you bird killer,” said the initiator.
The FWC asks anyone with information about wildlife violations to contact the agency’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at (888)-404-3922 or visit MyFWC.com/WildlifeAlert.