Rehab experts from the SR3 animal rescue in Des Moines say they are seeing brutal shootings of seals becoming more common.
Casey McLean with SR3 tells KIRO 7 on February 19 that a middle-aged Harbor Seal was found with a bullet in her head on the Washington coast.
For now, they are calling the seal “Patient 26-4”. She is on medication for a lot of pain while she gains enough weight to be transported for a CT scan.
“You can see the bright white circle, that’s the projectile that’s lodged in her muzzle area, the small fragments are shrapnel from the projectile,” McLean said.
Even with a bullet still in her head, McLean says the big girl is improving every day.
“She’s rehydrated, eating well on her own, doesn’t seem to be in a lot of pain, and we think we have that under control,” McLean said.
Unfortunately, a healthy future is uncertain. McLean said she still needs to double her weight, recover from an infection, and have the bullet potentially removed from her skull.
“She’ll be very lucky to make it back into the wild, but we will do everything we can to make that possible.”
McLean tells us this is the second seal brought in with a gunshot wound since November. She said that the seal came from near the same area as the other shot seal.
“We had her about a month, but unfortunately, she succumbed to the injuries,” McLean said.
This most recent seal getting shot in the face sparked shock across Washington, but despite that, state lawmakers are now considering making those killings legal.
“There were four bills this session aimed at increasing the killing of seals and sea lions with the hope that it protects salmon,” McLean said.
Three of those bills are dead, one is still on the table in the Senate.
McLean says there are less lethal ways to protect the salmon that would protect the seals too. She tells KIRO 7 the problem is that many of those solutions are not a quick fix.
“Such as habitat restoration, removing toxins, and looking at ocean or hatchery fishing issues we are facing.”
She tells KIRO 7 SR3 is working every day to make sure each of these injured seals get a long, happy life.
If you do come across a seal, sea lion, sea turtle, or any other kind of sea life that looks injured or sick, you can contact them here or call them at (206) 413-5962.
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