BEACH POINT — It appears a colony of approximately 50 seals near here, including adults and pups, was slaughtered over the weekend and an investigation is underway to determine if charges will be laid.
The dead seals were discovered Sunday by students at the Atlantic Veterinary College who were working in the area.
The seals were observed a day earlier, and people who saw them on the beach noticed nothing unusual.
Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust will perform necropsies later this week at the AVC on some of the seal carcasses found on Murray Beach.
An AVC spokesperson said the seals were found frozen on the beach Sunday and there was little AVC officials or officers from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans could do except to retrieve carcasses.
No real examination, including checking for a preliminary cause of death, could be done because they were frozen, said the spokesperson.
Once the necropsies and further lab tests are done, Daoust will submit the results to DFO managers and officers.
An AVC staffer who was at the scene said the colony included seals and seal pups.
“They were found perfectly alive and healthy yesterday (Saturday) and were found slaughtered this (Sunday) morning.”
The staffer said it is believed DFO officers arrived and euthanized some pups which were wounded and still left alive.
DFO officers were on the scene Sunday and Monday investigating the incident and officers said charges could be laid.
Please keep your pro-life propaganda to yourself.