700-Pound Sea Lion Was Shot 12 Times in West Seattle as Salmon Debate Intensifies
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 26
700-Pound Sea Lion Was Shot 12 Times in West Seattle as Salmon Debate Intensifies
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 26
Summary
Sept. 18 brought the discovery of a 700-pound male California sea lion dead on a West Seattle beach after being shot at least 12 times, including seven times in the head.
SR3 researchers used beachside X-rays to determine the animal had been shot at close range; the carcass was too large to move for a necropsy and was left to decompose naturally.
Casey Mclean of SR3 said multiple sea lions have been shot this year and linked the violence to sea lions being blamed for salmon declines, though the motive in this case remains unclear.
The killing lands amid a broader fight over salmon protection after a July bill in Washington proposed lethal removal of sea lions and seals, while NOAA enforces the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Recent attacks elsewhere have widened concern: a San Diego man pleaded guilty last month in a sea lion harassment case, and two beheaded sea lions were found on San Francisco beaches this month.