A man was sentenced for animal cruelty after a video showed him giving a hawk a BuzzBallz alcoholic beverage, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) said on Tuesday.
Screenshots taken from a video that was posted to YouTube show a juvenile Cooper’s hawk being held by someone, whom law enforcement identified as Cesar Gustavo Diaz, 25, of Watts. Another screenshot shows the bird on the ledge of a fence standing next to the alcoholic beverage, and the third screenshot shows someone pouring the drink into the hawk’s open mouth.
According to CDFW, Diaz captured the hawk in June of 2025 at Amelia Mayberry Park in South Whittier. As the video surfaced on YouTube, community members alerted authorities, who then began an investigation.
Wildlife officers then performed five search warrants during the investigation and interviewed Diaz. The man said he released the hawk before law enforcement got involved.
CDFW described Diaz as a felon who was already in police custody on unrelated charges. Following the hawk-related investigation, Diaz was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty and capturing/confining wildlife.
After pleading no contest to the animal cruelty charge, Diaz was sentenced to 12 months of probation and 45 days in county jail, with credit for time served. He was also ordered to complete 20 days of community labor, a 24-session animal cruelty counseling program and is prohibited from possessing any animals for five years.
Wildlife officials said anyone with information on wildlife crimes is urged to contact them at 888-334-2258.