Florida man cited for shooting, killing great blue heron and duck on his property: FWC

Man cited for shooting protected Great Blue Heron

A Pinellas Park man allegedly shot and killed a great blue heron and a mallard duck that were on his property, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission. Jennifer Kveglis reports.

MADIERA BEACH, Fla. - A man allegedly shot and killed a great blue heron and a mallard duck that were on his property, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Joseph White was issued a citation on Saturday for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act after shooting the animals on 129th Ave. E in Madeira Beach.

The backstory:

Great blue herons and other native migratory birds are federally protected, making it against the law to harm or kill them.

A video taken by a neighbor shows White being confronted about the shooting before FWC officials arrived.

A man was cited for shooting and killing a great blue heron and a mallard duck on his property, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.

The neighbor who recorded the video wants to remain anonymous, but said he heard White fire the pellet rifle on Friday.

What they're saying:

"I saw him carrying what looked like a dead mallard duck," he said.

The next day, he heard the pellet rifle fire off again.

"I step out the waterfront door, and I see a great blue heron on the side of his pool. I was watching specifically; I heard the shot," he said. "I see the heron react like you saw the feather kick up from being shot with something."

That great blue heron flew away, but the neighbor said he saw a second great blue heron at the end of White's dock.

"I'm frantically pulling out my camera to start recording because I visually saw him shoot the first great heron," he explained. "You hear another shot. And the heron dropped dead into the swimming pool."

Upon arrival, FWC officials say White admitted that he shot the heron with a pellet rifle to keep shorebirds and ducks from gathering near his pool.

"He admitted to using a pellet rifle to shoot the great blue heron. He explained that he was trying to keep shorebirds and ducks from congregating near his pool," said FWC Officer Bradley Johnson.

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The neighbor said the whole thing was not surprising.

When White first moved in, the neighbor said, "I could hear him talking loudly just about how no birds are going to be in his backyard. I don't know who he was talking to, but I could hear them saying something like they're inevitable, you can't do anything about them. I could hear the guy saying 'No.’"

A man cited for shooting, killing great blue heron and duck on his property

A man allegedly shot and killed a great blue heron and a mallard duck that were on his property, according to the Florida Wildlife Commission.

The Seaside Seabird Sanctuary did not want to comment on this specific incident. Still, Education Coordinator Charlotte Arndt said great blue herons are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

"It was 1918, it was passed. It makes it illegal to take, which means to hunt, to shoot, to kill, remove from the wild in any way," said Arndt.

Arndt said that back then, some birds were sought after for clothing.

"A lot of women, a lot of people wanted to take those feathers for their hats, for decoration," Arndt said.

"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 of the eggs that hatched are going to become fledged adults," Arndt said.

What you can do:

The neighbors hope people will direct their anger toward donating and volunteering for the Seaside Seabird Sanctuary. To learn more, click here.

To learn more about the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, click here.

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Anyone with information about wildlife violations is encouraged to contact FWC's Wildlife Alert Hotline.

You can call 888-404-FWCC (3922) or visit FWC's Alert Hotline website here.

The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Florida Wildlife Commission and FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis.

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