A wildlife rehabilitation center in Pendleton took in five birds over the past eight days all injured from gunshot wounds.

Lynn Tompkins with the Blue Mountain Wildlife says she does not believe the illegal shootings were connected because of the different locations and different projectiles used.

"I don't think they care about the consequences to be perfectly honest, you know most people know it is illegal to shoot a hawk, but they think Red-tails are out there killing all the pheasants, well you know Red-tail Hawks are not very good at catching birds, they are mostly rodent hunters," says Tompkins.

Four of the birds, which were all hawks, died from the shootings. The fifth bird, a barn owl, is in recovery but also contacted a parasite which could cause her not to be able to eat.

Over 2016, 40 birds have been brought to the center with gunshot wounds, with a majority being found in Washington state. The most recent shooting victims were all brought in from Oregon.

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