Jill Redwood, from Environment East Gippsland, said residents of the sparsely populated district – which lies near the NSW border – were aware of several farmers who poison or shoot the protected species over fears they will kill livestock. Loading It's understood a man employed to manage the farm had a falling out with the property owner and blew the whistle on the practice. The property manager has since left. Ms Redwood said many farmers were worried about eagles taking sheep. "I know a lot of farmers have the archaic belief the eagles are taking the livestock, rather than just eating the dead or carrion. So they are shooting and poisoning every eagle they see," said Ms Redwood.

"It makes me feel like we haven't progressed since small farming settlements, it's widespread over all of Gippsland. I'm hearing farmers in Tambo, up the Buchan Valley, everywhere, it's just going on everywhere. This is one example of one farmer's slaughter of protected species. You have to wonder how many other people are doing it." Ms Redwood said the eagles are a critical part of the food chain and important for keeping pests such as rabbit down. Pictures seen by The Age show a dead wedge-tailed eagle lying near the carcass of an animal in a field at the Tubbut property, dated mid-April this year. The body of an eagle found on a farm in Tubbut in far East Gippsland last month. A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning confirmed it had been investigating the death of the eagles for several weeks on farmland in East Gippsland.

The spokesman said the department is "taking this matter very seriously. No charges have been laid but our investigations are ongoing." "As these investigations progress, we are not in a position to comment on additional details." “DELWP is calling on the community to help us with any further information that could assist this case by contacting us directly or via Crimestoppers.” Wedge-tailed eagles are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and deliberately killing them carries a maximum penalty of $7928.50, and/or up to six months imprisonment with an additional penalty of $792.85 for each bird destroyed. It's not the first time the nation’s largest bird of prey has been targeted in fatal attacks.

A wedge-tailed eagle is found shot and dumped in Black Range State Forest, near three other dead birds, in 2017. Credit:DELWP Authorities revealed last July that about 20 of the birds had been found shot or poisoned and dumped in Victorian parkland in recent years. In June last year, the carcasses of four wedge-tailed eagles were found shot in the Black Range State Forest last June. Five white-bellied sea eagles were found fatally poisoned near Bairnsdale in August last year. A man was interviewed over the incident. DELWP said it will provide more information on the Tubbut investigation next Tuesday.

Information can be provided anonymously by phoning DELWP's Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.