Fishermen massacre protected fur seals 'to save fish stocks'

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...338769,00.html

Fishermen massacre protected fur seals 'to save fish stocks'
Bernard Lagan, of The Times, in Sydney
Two Australian fishermen used their trawler as a gunboat to kill more
than forty rare seals basking on an island in a national park.

The massacre, on the usually uninhabited Kanowna island, off the state
of Victoria, was witnessed by three university students who were
camping there to study the seals. They had to run for cover when the
fishing boat came inshore and heavy firing started from on board.

The killings have outraged conservationists, who claim that fishermen
frequently conduct mass killings of protected seals because they
believe that they deplete fish stocks.

Police said that the Australian fur seals - the fourth-rarest seal
species in the world - were shot with high-powered rifles.

The students later contacted police, who met a commercial fishing boat
when it docked at the small port of San Remo. The police found two
rifles on the boat and arrested two fishermen, aged 29 and 19. They
were still being questioned today but a police spokesman said that it
was likely that charges would be laid, including one of aggravated
cruelty to animals, which carries a jail term.

Police went to the island today to determine the number of seals killed
and to check for wounded animals.

John Thwaites, the Victoria Government Environment Minister, said that
he was dismayed by the killings.

"I can't imagine how anyone calling themselves a human being would
do this sort of thing," he said. "These are protected animals, they
are rare animals and they are one of the most important species we
have."

Mr Thwaites said that he could not recall another instance of fur seals
being killed in recent times.

"We certainly have had incidents of kangaroos being killed and some
other animals, but nothing of the size of this act. I'd rate this as
extremely disturbing."

Charles Franken, the wildlife manager of the Victoria Department of
Sustainability, said: "I am well aware that this practice goes on and
the commercial fishing sector knows that as well.

"Without the people on the island, it would have gone undetected."

Mark Rodrigue, the marine coasts officer for Parks Victoria, said that
the slaughter was likely to be the worst since seal hunting was
declared illegal in Victoria in 1891.

He added: "There are isolated incidents of seals being washed up with
bullet wounds in them, but nothing like this has occurred in recent
history."

The Australian Government said that it would review national penalties
for the slaughter of seals. The Royal Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals said that the Australian fishing industry tacitly
supported the culling of seals because it believed that they reduced
their catch sizes.