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Gunmen massacre rare seals
01/09/2006 09:08 - (SA)
Melbourne - Australian police are investigating the shooting of a colony of rare seals on a remote southern Australian island.
More than 40 of the animals were killed in what witnesses said was an hour-long barrage on Wednesday.
Animal welfare activists have accused the fishing industry, saying the attackers was probably fishermen illegally culling seals living in lucrative fishing grounds.
Fishing industry officials have denied the accusations.
Police said a group of university students studying protected Australian fur seals on Kanowna Island off the southernmost tip of mainland Australia witnessed the attack at dusk on Wednesday.
Detective senior constable Mick Harvey said the students took cover when gunfire erupted. He said the shots lasted for about one hour.
The students later found dozens of animals shot dead.
Police detained two fishermen on Thursday and found two high-powered rifles on their boat.
The men have since been released without charge.
Police and officers from the department of sustainability and environment are still investigating.
The president of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hugh Wirth, said he had no doubt fishermen were involved in the killings and that the motive was reducing the seals' impact on fisheries.
Executive director of the Seafood Industry of Victoria state Ross McGowan has rejected the accusation, saying most fishermen would find the attack abhorrent.
"It's true seals are our competitors, but whether it's the trawl, rock lobster or bay and inlet industries, we have codes of conduct which are rigidly adhered to," said McGowan.
- AP
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