SEATTLE, Wash. — Animal rescuers call it shocking. A sea lion, washed up on the shore in West Seattle, had been shot multiple times.
“I personally have not seen this many projectiles in one area of a body before,” said Casey McLean, who heads Sealife Response, Rehabilitation and Research. The X-rays she took of the sea lion show what appear to be bullets lodged in the animal’s head.
“This is the actual object, so some of them are round- you can see this one’s got a flattened edge; it’s probably just from being in the animal,” she said, peering into the X-ray.
From what she could see, there were about a dozen. “The shooting was absolutely the cause of death.” Because there was little decomposition when the sea lion was found, she says it was likely shot nearby.
What’s unclear is why, but McLean - who’s been rescuing marine animals in the northwest for 15 years – says there’s a belief that killing sea lions will somehow save endangered salmon. She says this is false.
“I think it’s important to know that this is not going to recover salmon populations. I think we all want more salmon. We need more salmon for multitudes of reasons. And this is not the answer.”
She reported the killing to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which says the Marine Mammal Protection Act protects animals such as harbor seals, sea lions, and whales.
Killing, harassing, or even feeding them can lead to fines, prison time, or losing a boat if it was involved.
There is no exact data on the number of sea lions that are illegally killed each year, though McLean said even one is too many.