A wildlife hospital in Walnut Creek is seeing more animals brought in with gunshot wound than ever before.

The animals are being found all over the East Bay and, according to professionals with the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital, it doesn’t appear the cases are connected.

“This is an x-ray of a red-tailed hawk that came in,” Veterinarian Doctor Allison Daughtery says as she points to the bird’s injury.

“There’s the fracture,” Dr. Daughtery says. “I would call it a comminuted fracture because its in multiple pieces, and there’s that bright white spot is the metallic foreign body, most likely, you know, obviously a shot.”

Dr. Daughtery says the red-tailed hawk was brought into the Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital about two weeks ago.

It’s one of seven animals treated for gunshot wounds at the hospital in the last month alone.

“A crow, to a raven, to a red-tailed hawk, to a red-shoulder hawk, to a turkey vulture,” she explains.

So far this year, the hospital has cared for 30 animals either hit by a pellet or a bullet.

That’s nearly double the amount wildlife treated for similar injuries last year.

Well above the hospital average of 10 per year.

And, there’s no clear reason why.

“People may be doing it for sport, but it could be, pests,” she explains. “Or, they’re concerned. I mean, a lot of times people do things like this because they are, for whatever reason, they’re misjudging and they think they need to be worried about these animals and they shouldn’t.”

Earlier this year, Daughtery says a bobcat and even an otter were treated for gunshot wounds.

Although, most of the injured animals are birds, like a turkey vulture that has been rehabbing for two months.

Hospital manager Aireo Shipman says he alerts both the State and Federal Fish and Wildlife agencies whenever an animal is treated for gunshot wounds.

He says all birds native to the area are protected under the migratory bird act and, even animals that have hunting seasons, you’re not allowed to shoot them outside of the hunting season.

Doing so if a felony and could result in six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.

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