Hawaiʻi has tightened its laws on harming wild animals, after a native hawk was found badly injured on the island of Hawaiʻi in the archipelagic state. 

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Governor Josh Green signed Senate Bill 849 into law as Act 98, which will impose fines of up to $20,000 and jail time on each offense against indigenous species, "including aquatic life, wildlife, and land plants." It also makes repeat offenses into Class C felonies, where previously all violations had been misdemeanors. 

The law came into being due to the discovery of an ʻio, a species of hawk native to Hawaiʻi on the Big Island, which had been badly maimed by an unknown person. 

According to the Star-Advertiser, the ʻio was found in a chicken coop with a significant portion of its top beak missing, which allowed the bird to hunt and kill prey, but not eat it. 

It was extremely emaciated as a result of the injury, and the investigation by the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources revealed the ʻio's injuries were done intentionally, likely with the hope of selling the bird. Cutting the beak is often done to deter attacks on livestock or people when keeping birds like this as a pet. 

"We got a report that somebody was trying to give a hawk away on Craigslist," Raymond McGuire, a wildlife scientist with the DLNR, said, while noting the hawk was found "a few days later." 

After the incident, Democratic state senator Dru Mamo Kanuha introduced the bill. 

"We recognized that existing laws did not go far enough to deter harm to our indigenous species—particularly the ʻio," Kanuha wrote. "This is a critical step forward in holding bad actors accountable and deterring future harm. Our ʻio — the Hawaiian hawk — are keystone species in the forests across Hawaii, and especially within my Senate District on Hawaiʻi Island." 

Hawaiʻi isn't the only state imposing tighter restrictions on cruelty towards animals; Wyoming is debating stricter punishments against people who harm wolves, while New York has imposed stricter punishments against those who face multiple counts of animal cruelty.  

But the island state clearly takes protecting its beautiful and unique wildlife seriously, and it can now back that up with more severe punishments for those who don't.