DAPHNE, Alabama—Police are investigating the alleged poisoning of a protected live oak tree in Daphne on U.S. 98 near the I-10 intersection, a city official said.

“I would like to see whoever did this do prison time,” Councilman John Lake said at the end of the Daphne City Council meeting Monday night, Aug. 6. “This 40-year-old tree was murdered.”

Another tree in the same area may also have been poisoned.

The dying tree is located in front of the Taco Bell, and the dead tree is located near the Taco Bell and Top of the Bay lounge in Daphne.

Barren and leafless all the way to the top, the dead live oak shows an area of completely dead grass and skeletal shrubs around its base.

The trees looks to have been poisoned with something heavier than the herbicide Round-Up, Lake said at the Aug. 6 council meeting.

The city's Land Use and Development Ordinance states that trees 100 feet from the right of way on U.S. 98 can be taken down only if approved by the city of Daphne. And one section specifically provides for the preservation and heritage of live oak trees.

Daphne police are investigating the issue, Lake said. A police spokesperson could not be reached for comment by deadline.

Editor's Note: See Aug. 9 edition of The Courier for additional coverage.