seeing killerkats thread about animal abuse reminded me of something else I found sickening which happened much closer to home recently.
The worst is that nobody helped the police find the people that did it.....no one said a word.
Fishermen blamed for seal pup slaughter
November 6, 2004
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Environme...?oneclick=true
About 60 grey seals, most of them pups, have been slaughtered on a western Irish island, wildlife officials reported today.
Activists from a group called the Irish Seal Sanctuary blamed local fishermen for killing the animals because they eat fish. Grey seals are supposed to be a protected species under Ireland's Wildlife Act of 1976.
...the grey seals killed were mostly "whitecoats" - pups about 3 weeks old.
He said the attackers appeared to have used several methods, including gun shots, beating the animals with rocks and driving nails into their skulls. "They ripped some of these seals open from the nape of the neck," he said.
..."The cruel and barbaric slaughter of these seals has a dehumanising effect on society. The sight of seals being bludgeoned to death is repugnant," said Roche, who appealed to the public to tip off police about the people responsible.
Fishermen have been blamed for occasional slaughters of seals on the islands that dot the western and southern coasts of Ireland. Nobody has ever faced charges.
Beginish is part of the Blasket Islands, Ireland's largest haven for grey seals. The Irish Seal Sanctuary estimates that fewer than 400 grey seals live in the islands, down from about 2,000 a half-century ago.
