A federal investigation is currently underway after authorities found a dolphin fatally shot and stabbed on a Louisiana beach. The animal was found washed up on the shores of Mae's Beach in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on March 13, 2024. A beachgoer reported the unfortunate discovery to the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline.
Authorities are now offering a reward of $20,000 for anyone who has information about the criminal offense that leads to a conviction, as they are hoping to find who is responsible for the crime.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s stranding network partner, Audubon Aquarium Rescue, “recovered the animal and transported it to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans for a necropsy,” according to an announcement made by NOAA Fisheries Service. On April 24, 2024, the organization announced that the mammal “appeared to have died from the trauma, which occurred at or near the time of death.”
The dolphin's necropsy discovered multiple bullets lodged in its brain, spinal cord, and heart. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the animal's death and is requesting the public's help. The $20,000 reward will be given to anyone who can provide information that would lead to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty.
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Shooting the dolphin violates the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which makes it a crime to hunt, harass, capture, kill, or attempt to do so, to any marine mammal. Violators of the protection act can be can be prosecuted civilly or criminally. Their crimes can also be “punishable by up to $100,000 in fines and up to one year in jail per violation,” per the NOAA Fisheries Service announcement.
The dolphin was a juvenile bottlenose. Its injuries were consistent with being shot by a firearm, the necropsy found. A necropsy is the animal equivalent of an autopsy.
Anyone with information about the incident can call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at 800-853-1964 and leave tips anonymously. To receive the $20,000 for providing important information that leads to a criminal conviction, you must leave your name and contact information.
West Mae's Beach is on Barataria Bay, which is the largest estuary in Louisiana. Bottlenose dolphins live there year-round, but according to the Marine Mammal Commission, the population there is threatened.
After the Deep Horizon oil spill in 2010, the dolphin population in the bay declined by 45%. Many suffered reproductive failure and other diseases caused by the exposure to the oil.
"Who shoots a dolphin??!!!!" one person commented.
"I hope whoever did this & they are caught they will be severely punished for this unimaginable, extreme cruelty on a beautiful, harmless creature which his l8fe/ freedom taken away ," another person wrote.
More people continued to share their disgust at the news.
"Every time I open my phone, I read something that makes me hate people a little more," one user wrote.
"So we are picking up bears for photos, mowing down wolves and beating them to death, now we are killing dolphins," another person exclaimed. "Jesus please get me off this Trainwreck."
