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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Utah Division of Wildlife Resources officers are seeking information about the individuals who shot an adult female American kestrel and her chicks while they were in a nesting box.

DWR officials were contacted Monday regarding the illegal wildlife killing. The person who contacted the wildlife officials said they had been helping with a nesting project in the Eagle Mountain area and were checking the nest boxes Monday evening when they found one that “had been shot to pieces with a shotgun,” officials said.

When conservation officer Sean Spencer arrived on the scene, he found that the adult female kestrel and all four of her chicks had been killed in the shooting. Shotgun shells were also discovered near the tree and pieces of the nesting box were riddled with shotgun pellet holes.

Spencer said he believes the birds were killed Friday, June 9.

Anyone with information about the shooting can call the UTIP hotline at 1-800-662-3337 or email the information to toturninapoacher@utah.gov. Rewards are often available for information leading to the successful prosecution of wildlife crimes, and tipsters can remain anonymous.

Editor's note: The content of this article was taken from a press release sent out by the Division of Wildlife Resources. This is not information gathered by KSL.com reporters.

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