Man Accused of Shooting Protected Hawk
Criminal charges have been filed against a Sun Valley man accused of shooting to death a Cooper’s hawk, a species protected under state law, reportedly after the raptor attacked the man’s pigeons, authorities said.
Akop Manukyan, 23, is scheduled to be arraigned March 24 in Van Nuys Municipal Court on charges of illegally taking a bird of prey, discharging a weapon and possessing marijuana.
Manukyan was arrested Feb. 4 after a neighbor called police and told them he heard a gunshot and a thud on the tin roof of a structure attached to his house, said Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek. When the neighbor looked on the roof, he found the dead hawk.
Cocek said Manukyan admitted that he shot the bird. “He told the police officer he raised pigeons and the hawks were attacking his pigeons,” Cocek said.
Police found a .22-caliber rifle in Manukyan’s house and a small amount of marijuana in his pocket, Cocek said.
If convicted of the charges, Manukyan faces a year in jail and $2,100 in fines, Cocek said.
Cooper’s hawks are classified as protected, meaning their population is low and but not so low that their species is nearing extinction, Cocek said.
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