A Los Angeles man has been jailed for 45 days after he fed liquor to a juvenile hawk in a viral video.
Cesar Gustavo Diaz, a 25-year-old from the Watts section of LA, filmed himself capturing the Cooper’s hawk in June 2025 in a suburban park.
He later uploaded the footage to YouTube, sparking concerns about the animal’s welfare, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
In the video, the 25-year-old is seen holding the brown-and-beige-feathered bird in his hands. At one point, he brandishes an alcoholic beverage in a green container, which he decants into the hawk’s mouth.
As the raptor gulped down the drink in the clip, the words “hawk loves him some buz (sic) ball” appeared on the screen.
In another part of the video, the bird stands next to the green drink and stares into the camera.
Meanwhile, words across the screen read, “Hanging out with the homie.”
The CDFW says that it was alerted to the incident by members of the public, prompting the agency to launch an investigation overseen by the Special Operations Unit.
A total of five search warrants were executed during the investigation, with officials later identifying Diaz, who was already in custody on unrelated charges.
Diaz allegedly released the hawk before being interviewed, the CDFW says.
He was subsequently charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty and capturing/confining wildlife.
On February 19, 2026, he submitted a no-contest plea to the animal cruelty charge and was sentenced to 12 months of summary probation.
He was also ordered to carry out a 45-day stint in Los Angeles County Jail, with credit for time served; 20 days of community labor; a 24-session animal cruelty counselling program and a five-year prohibition on possessing animals.
Diaz was handed a ten-year firearm prohibition and was ordered to pay $220 in fines and fees.
There was a huge backlash to Diaz’s YouTube video, with several social media users questioning his motives.
“Is the hawk okay? It was obviously in distress to allow a human to prod at it like that,” one person raged.
Underneath the CDFW’s statement about Diaz’s actions, another wrote, “What the heck is wrong with people?”
Cooper’s hawks are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. The legislation, which was amended in 1998, bans the hunting, capturing or killing of any migratory bird.
The hawks currently have a conservation status of “least concern” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.
Cooper’s hawks are described as “crow-sized” by AllAboutBirds, with females often dwarfing males in size.
Larger females can be up to 17.7 inches long, with a wingspan of up to 35.4 inches. Males, on the other hand, can reach 15.3 inches in length but also have wingspans of up to 35.4 inches.
