Man arrested for killing burrowing owl with paintball gun

A 20-year-old man was arrested after a neighbor reported that someone was shooting at a burrowing owl -- a protected species -- with a paintball gun; it is believed to be the first time someone was arrested for killing a burrowing owl - May 17, Sarasota Herald Tribune

Peril building in cranes' habitat

Four sandhill cranes have been found tortured in a Pasco subdivision as houses sprout - Dec. 4, St. Petersburg Times

Gopher tortoises slaughtered

An Ocala city worker found two bags of about 20 cleaned-out tortoise shells Wednesday afternoon in a wooded area in the city - Dec. 1, AP

Neighborhood becoming known for violence to sandhill cranes

This month, a sandhill crane with its legs broken and one foot twisted off was found near a construction site just north of the Hillsborough/Pasco county line; that comes after the discovery of two other injured birds last year -- one with a nail in its head apparently fired from a nail gun and another with an extension cord fashioned as a noose around its neck - Nov. 26, AP