Wisconsin man, son admit poisoning bald eagles

Sugar Camp, WI  ( Wheeler News )   A man and his son who run a large potato farm in northern Wisconsin will pay $100,000 restitution for the poisoning deaths of two bald eaglesand 70 other wild animals. 65-year-old Alvin Sowinski and his 46-year-old son Paul of Sugar Camp in Oneida County have made a plea deal on federal charges of illegal bald eagle possession.  Authorities said the Sowinskis poisoned a host of wildlife with pesticides between 2007  and 2010 -- including at least two eagles, nine coyotes, a bobcat, and almost two dozen dead birds and ravens.There was no evidence that any wolves -- who were federally-protected at the time -- were poisoned.

Officials said Alvin Sowinski had used the insecticide Carbofuran to kill wildlife, and both defendants allowed hunters and trappers to kill predators to make deer and grouse hunting better for their friends.

An investigation began in 2007 when a game warden found a dead bald eagle, among other animals.