A video showing a seal being poked with a buoy and kicked on a Nova Scotia fishing boat has led the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to lay charges against three fishermen.
Doug Wentzell, regional director of fisheries management for DFO, told The Canadian Press the charges came after the department was “alerted by various members of the community,” that video posted to Facebook showed a seal being abused on a vessel off Yarmouth.
“They used that information as well as the results of their investigation to lay the charges,” Wentzell said.
The video, originally posted by Facebook user Mark MacKenzie who is said to have filmed the incident, shows the seal being poked with the tip of a buoy and kicked as people laugh in the background. The video has since been taken down.
“Good seal! Speak boy,” a man can be heard saying.
Individuals can also be heard shouting, “Want a treat, boy?” and, “OK, let’s kill it!”
In a series of tweets Wednesday, DFO explained three individuals had been charged after their investigation into “alleged illegal behaviour with regard to treatment of a seal.”
The charges are related to two sections of the department’s Marine Mammal Regulations and one section of the Fishery General Regulations, which stipulate “No person shall disturb a marine mammal except when fishing for marine mammals under the authority of these regulations,” and “No person shall attempt to kill a marine mammal except in a manner that is designed to kill it quickly.”
— With files from The Canadian Press.
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