Three Kings County teens, aged 15, 17 and 18, have been identified as suspects in a crime in which a colony of seals were bludgeoned to death.
Kings District RCMP and Department of Fisheries and Oceans officers arrested the three young men on the weekend as suspects in the crime of cruelty to animals.
A group of Atlantic Veterinary College students who were working in the area found about 50 dead seals Jan. 27 on Murray Beach, the day after the animals had been seen alive on the beach.
The AVC conducted necropsies on 10 pups, finding they had been bludgeoned. Some were only a few weeks old, many were frozen and all were left to decompose.
Investigators executed four search warrants on Feb. 15, resulting in the seizure of items connected to the crime scene. While charges have not yet been laid, the three young men are ultimately facing Criminal Code charges of causing unnecessary suffering to animals.
The three teens have been released into the custody of their parents on conditions and a pending court date of April 11..
