Sea lions found shot near West Seattle

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Nearly a half dozen California sea lions have washed ashore in the last six weeks near West Seattle, and at least two of them are confirmed to have been killed by gunshot wounds.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed they are investigating the deaths.

One sea lion found Wednesday has suspicious wounds, but a necropsy has not yet been performed to find the cause of death. There are several others still under investigation as well.

Sea lions are protected by the Marine Mammal Act. The fine for killing a sea lion can be up to a year in prison and a $25,000 fine. Those that are illegally killed are often killed with no witnesses, so it's rare anyone is prosecuted for the crime.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/sea-lions-found-shot-near-west-seattle/281-614574829?fbclid=IwAR0JFvH-huoug5Y_tNq_lPZlHwjr9a1u5Cmvt3eIbFXd8zXjU5AB4pNYet4

[TreasonousBastard]

1. Killing something just to watch it die...

Long ago I heard some old woodsman type mention the vast difference between the thrill of the hunt and the kick in killing.

[violetpastille]

2. My MoC is all for killing sea lions

She worked hard on a bill to make it easier and it passed the house.

https://katu.com/news/local/sea-lions-versus-salmon-battle-heats-up-with-a-bill-supported-by-rep-jaime-herrera-beutler

But it won't necessarily help salmon populations.

Extinction is on the mind of Mark Sherwood. He leads the Oregon City-based Native Fish Society. The group was started in 1995 and is the largest science based, grass roots, native fish preservation society in the Northwest. Sherwood's focused on the other impacts to native runs: harvest, habitat, hydro, and hatcheries.

“We need to be looking at the things like dam removal, like habitat restoration, like reforming our hatchery programs, like reforming our fisheries and making them sustainable so that we can actually increase the number of salmon and steelhead,” he said. “I think now in the next couple of decades we’re really going into a critical moment where we don’t start taking on some of those core issues, whether or not we’re culling sea lions isn’t going to make a difference.”