Videoed abuse of seals prompts nighttime closure of San Diego beach

SAN DIEGO San Diego's mayor has ordered a two-month nighttime shutdown of a beach after cameras set up to monitor a seal colony captured people kicking, punching and sitting on top of mother seals and their pups.

Mayor Bob Filner said in a statement Tuesday that the La Jolla beach known as Children's Pool will be closed between sunset and sunrise until May 15.

That takes the closure through the end of seal pupping season during which seals giver birth to and nurse their young, explains CBS San Diego affiliate KFMB-TV.

The 24-hour "seal-cam" was introduced in January and equipped with night vision so researchers and the public could watch the seals give birth.

But the camera captured people abusing and harassing the seals and driving them from their resting places.

Wildlife advocate Andrea Hahn tells KFMB harassment of the seals during pupping season has been a problem for years. "We've had reports of poaching. We've had shootings here at night. We've had seal mutilations at night."

The beach has been the center of a long legal fight over human access versus seal protection.

[ghettogloss]

This makes my heart hurt. I was down there on Saturday afternoon -- the seals are such adorable, lumbering, lovable animals, I can't fathom what kind of moron or sicko would take pleasure in hurting them.

I'm sure there is an abundance of upstanding animal lovers who would volunteer to stand watch over the beach so this doesn't happen again. I hope those two women are found -- and someone takes a baseball bat to them!

[lkrupp]

Human beings are ****** bags. It really is that simple, people.

[earth56]

The two b itches on that video would be buoys by now if I caught them.

Hopefully if they see themselves on this tape they'll be stupid enough to somehow brag about it and be caught. I want to sit in that courtroom and spit in their faces.

[you_MAY_be_right]

Watch the video, you are seeing the next generation of psychopaths.

[MarineGal1997]

What is wrong with people? I hope one of these abusers gets attacked by one of them. They aren't friendly. This makes me sick to think these girls and others did this because they thought it was fun. Let's hope they aren't reproducing. This is where homicidal maniacs are bred. It starts with abusing animals.

[LoveMyPope]

Wow. Human beings are so fallen and depraved sometimes. What is with us? Why are we so messed up? A hint -- it's a three letter word, begins with s, ends in n, and the middle letter is i.

[freewillybird]

or maybe just too many people breeding and creating crowding, and that makes us all act more competitively......

[Man_ofreason]

"Wealthy psychopaths? What a surprise!" he says in mock horror.

[Bojax39]

Makes you want to hide and watch then beat the living sh|t out of these morons.

[PrecioustoHim]

1 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

The cruel treatment of all of God's sweet helpless little creatures will be justified one day.

When King Jesus returns all wrongs will be made right.

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
(whether it be good or evil)

[signseeker1717]

Sadly, we shouldn't need Bible verses to tell us that abusing animals for "fun"(?) is wrong and sick.

[Mathion]

Though your heart is in the right place, the rationale is a touch lame.

Better to pass a law allowing public flogging for all offenses. That way, the inevitability of punishment is more certain to both the individual and those who might emulate them.

[magnumdr]

These people that kich or hurt a helpless animal should all be tied up on the beach and let any person who thinks they did wrong kick at them and do whatever these people did to the seals!