Cooper's Hawk Investigation Update

Update: The MNR officer came out this morning. I showed her the spot where we found the hawk. I had emailed her the pics we took of the scene and she agreed that the bird was obviously placed there (on top of a brush pile). She said that they will examine the bird to confirm it died of a shot (likely from a pellet gun based on the size of the wound etc). The hawk will probably then be taxidermied and used as a teaching/learning tool. At least he will continue to serve a purpose and not just be disposed of, so I feel a little better about that. She did tell me that farmers DO have a right to protect their livestock. HOWEVER, the livestock must be under a direct and immediate threat. For example, a farmer can't just shoot a bear because it walks along the property- it actually has to be posing a threat. Since the hawk may have been sitting in one of his trees just watching the chickens (or not even the chickens but maybe even the songbirds at his feeder) then that's what needs to be determined. She is going to return in a few days to interview the neighbour and will then let us know what's going to happen. I guess it could be a warning (maybe that would be good enough to put a stop to it) or a fine (even better). At any rate, she was a very nice person and she also assured me that it was the right call to make (I didn't want to be a nuisance call just "telling on my neighbours"). I guess that's it for now. To be continued....