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HONOLULU (KITV) — Two Oahu residents were fined $20,000 after their unleashed dogs reportedly attacked and killed a baby Monk seal on the North Shore in May, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced.
The civil penalty was assessed for violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Lesley Macpherson and James Armstrong Lyman were identified by NOAA and the dogs’ owners.
According to NOAA, puncture wounds and the hemorrhaging in the pup’s body were consistent with it being a dog attack. NOAA said the pup, PO7, was a female.
Macpherson and Lyman have the right to challenge both the allegations charged and the civil penalty, NOAA said. They can also request a hearing in front of an administrative law judge.
PO7 was the third Hawaiian Monk seal killed by dogs in the last 10 years. NOAA urges pet owners to keep their dogs leashed on beaches at all times and away from seals, adults or pups.
You can help Hawaii’s monk seal population by reporting all sightings, injuries, and strandings to the statewide NOAA Marine Wildlife Hotline at 888-256-9840. In Hawaiʻi, leash laws are enforced by state, county, and Humane Society officials.
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