LA Man Sentenced for Pouring Alcohol on Hawk

A Los Angeles man has been sentenced to 45 days in county jail after video footage showed him capturing a protected hawk and pouring alcohol into its mouth. Cesar Gustavo Diaz, 25, from the Watts neighborhood, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor animal cruelty charges stemming from the June 2025 incident at Amelia Mayberry Park in South Whittier.

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Diaz snatched a juvenile Cooper's hawk from a playground area in the park and recorded himself offering the bird a BuzzBallz cocktail, a beverage with 15 percent alcohol by volume. One video, uploaded to YouTube with the caption "Hanging out with the homie. Hawk loves him some buzz ball," depicted Diaz holding the bird and pouring the drink into its beak. Another clip appeared to show the hawk with what looked like a cigarette or marijuana joint in its mouth while perched on a porch. In a separate recording of the capture, Diaz could be heard saying he planned to take the bird home.

The videos, which resurfaced recently, drew widespread concern from community members and animal rights advocates, prompting reports to authorities. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife...