- Target: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Pacific Region
- Sponsored by: Animal Advocates
At least three Hawaiian monk seals were found clubbed to death on Molokai and Kauai coasts. There are currently 1,100 monk seals left in the world, and the species is predicted to go extinct in 50 to 100 years.
Animal rights activists speculate that the killings are in response to new government efforts to protect the seals; some fishermen believe that these regulations will affect their rights to fish. More seals are expected to die as a result of this apparent misguided protest.
Killing endangered animals is an unacceptable response to frustrations with government regulations. Monk seals are native to Hawaii and should not have to suffer death by clubbing because fisherman are unhappy with tighter endangered species laws.
Susan Armstrong
Every effort should be made to capture and punish the people responsible for the deaths of these seals. It is a reprehensible act and we as a society cannot tolerate murder of these living creature(ENDANGERED living creatures at that!).