Shooting of sea lions in Santa Monica Bay sparks outrage
This post has been corrected. See note at the bottom for details.
Officials this week announced a $5,000 reward in the case of several sea lions who washed up wounded by gunshots.
According to Marine Animal Rescue, the latest case occurred Aug. 3 when an adult female sea lion washed ashore on Venice Beach "spurting blood from a hole in her right side."
The organization tried to treat the sea lion, but it was too late.
In February 2009, a wounded sea lion pup was found at Dockweiler Beach. "At least one bullet penetrated the pup’s spine. He was paralyzed, and in critical condition," the group said in a statement. "The pup had to be euthanized."
"Some anglers feel that seals, sea lions and even pelicans are a threat to their livelihoods and will purposely injure or kill the animals," MAR said.
[For the Record, 6:11 a.m. Aug. 18: An earlier version of this post indicated that an adult female sea lion found at Venice Beach was euthanized. Actually, that sea lion was already dead when discovered; the animal that was euthanized was a pup found at Dockweiler Beach in 2009.]
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Photo: Sea lion found wounded this month in Venice. Credit: Marine Animal Rescue