Clatsop County ranchers blame bald eagles for livestock deaths

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) – Some northwest Oregon ranchers say they’re losing lambs to predation by bald eagles.

The Daily Astorian reports Ben Parker of Brownsmead has lost four lambs and suspects the same eagle has killed them all.

Clatsop County residents say they can remember when it was rare to see a bald eagle.

Wildlife photographer Neal Main says the eagle population has exploded. The raptors were removed in 2007 from the federal Endangered Species Act list and can be found in nearly every Oregon county.

Federal and state officials say predation by bald eagles on the North Coast remains rare. An animal may die in a field from other causes but be found with an eagle eating it.

Killing eagles remains illegal. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can issue permits to haze them.