Posted on 07/28/2007 3:15:02 PM PDT by george76
A 24-year-old angler has been arrested in California for allegedly stabbing a sea lion with a steak knife after the animal stole bait off his fishing pole.
Injuries to the 6-foot-long, female mammal were so severe she had to be euthanized several hours after the attack, the Los Angeles Times said Saturday.
Hai Nguyen, who was being held at Newport Beach Jail on $20,000 bail, is expected to be arraigned early next week on a charge of felony cruelty to animals. Nguyen could face a $25,000 fine and up to a year in prison if convicted.
The U.S. attorney's office also may file charges under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Real tough guy. With any luck the same thing will happen to him in jail.
” In Alaska, a huge sea lion jumped onto a fisherman’s boat in 2004, knocked him overboard and pulled him underwater...
Sea lions...can reach 1,000 pounds... “
I don't think the guy was trying to act tough. I think he was just trying to fish and sea lions make it extremely difficult.
My father-in-law was a commercial fisherman and the sea lions were a huge problem for fishermen. Are people evil for killing termites that are destroying their house? What living things are alright to kill?
I only have to fight off insects and obnoxious jet skies where I go.
Fair enough, but can you kill a Jet Ski with a single stab?
> Sea Lions are becoming a pain for many fisherman. I read lots of complaints on anglers websites.
Yeah, it’s not like fishing is supposed to take any real effort... ;-)
” a group of sea lions took over a Newport Beach marina and caused a vintage 50-foot yacht to capsize when they boarded it.
Recently a lifeguard in Santa Barbara was bitten three times while swimming off El Capitan State Beach. “
American fisheries could do with a great deal fewer seals and sea lions!
Lock him up for a very long time.
>>> a group of sea lions took over a Newport Beach marina and caused a vintage 50-foot yacht to capsize when they boarded it.<<<
I think I might authorize the use of steak knives in this particular incident.... Just sayin’.
The Sea Lion was a predator unafraid of humans or the shore bound fisherman would have never been able to get close enough to stab this nuisance animal.
I hope they go light on this guy and it is about time we start discussing ways to cull the herds. These things are out of balance and are destroying wildlife and are causing humans to loose more and more land rights as they breed themselves larger habitat than ever before.
bingo
A friend of mine and I were surfing off Ventura one Christmas morning (YEAH CALIFORNIA!). Both of us were in wetsuits. I just came in onto the rocks (tide was coming in) and he was right behind me when a sea lion decided he was a GIRL sea lion. Barely got away with his life. Busted his teeth up, and nearly drowned him. Concusion, the whole nine yards. I had to drag him up to the car. While it was happening, I was throwing rocks and yelling bloody murder along with a couple other surfers. Finally, it just took off. I don’t think stabbing one for bait stealing is necessarily a good thing, even though I fish quite a bit and even attend a woman’s fishing club. But if it’s comin’ in for lovin’, I’m using a 12 gauge.
Had it not been for the Austrian, Mr. Nguyen could have eliminated the pest with a single shot from a 50 cal BMG, precluding the need for the risky lunge with a kitchen knife followed by a painful euthanasia procedure.
A real problem!
B U M P
Thanks for the ping.
Sea lions cause problems for fisherman all along the Pacific coast and inland. In the last year or so there have two or three shot by fishermen in the Columbia river after the fishermen have become frustrated from the sea lions taking salmon off their lines.
There’s also been a huge problem with the animals coming up the Columbia over a hundred miles to Bonneville Dam during the salmon runs and gorging themselves on salmon and killing the salmon without even eating them.
The state has finally gotten permission to start shooting the problem sea lions that can’t be scared off because they kill so many salmon.
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