Man Arrested For Stabbing Sea Lion

(AP)  A fisherman has been arrested for allegedly stabbing a sea lion with a steak knife after the animal stole his bait.

Hai Nguyen, 24, was arrested Friday and being held at Newport Beach Jail on $20,000 bail. He was expected to be arraigned next week on a charge of felony cruelty to animals, authorities said.

The sea lion, a six-foot female weighing about 150 pounds, was severely wounded and was later euthanized.

"It's a horrible thing," said Dean Gomersall, animal care supervisor at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, where the animal was euthanized hours after the attack. "My crew is extremely upset, and we're just glad the person was caught."

Authorities said the case also was being investigated by the U.S. attorney's office for possible federal charges under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Police said Nguyen was fishing off a Newport pier about 12:30 p.m. when the sea lion apparently snatched the bait from his fishing pole.

Becoming upset, authorities said Nguyen stabbed the animal with a steak knife.

"It was close enough so he could just reach out and stab it in the water," said Sgt. Evan Sailor, a police spokesman. "A number of people witnessed it and called police."

Nguyen was arrested without incident at the pier, Sailor said.

The animal was recovered by volunteers from the marine mammal center. They discovered that a knife wound had pierced its heart.

Nguyen could face a $25,000 fine and up to a year in prison if convicted on the animal cruelty charge. A conviction on federal charges of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act could add $12,000 in civil penalties, criminal fines of up to $20,000 and additional jail time, authorities said.

Deport him.

[keithle1]

You're in the USA now. We don't eat sea lions.
Therefore leave them alone. They're cute.

[dowjones20k]

I concur on the abortion issue ......

This poor Bast*rd ....

He would have been much better off stabbing a person, lord knows that society would have just brushed it off, but goodness me, let it be an animal and the witch hunt begins for all of those animal haters .... not to mention the guy may well be a Vietnamese immigrant who does not understand our culture .... it's ok to kill each other ... but if an animal is killed, you better watch out !!

We have absolutely lost our fri*gin minds ....

God help us !!

[zootallures2]

So, should a women have an abortion if she's raped by a sea lion?

That should have the feminists and liberals chasing their tails for years, heh?

[tmkgls]

A humorous comment posted by Iceman_1960 and he gets his point across:

Quote:

I don't see the logic either, but I'd like to state my opinion that any pregnant female sea lion who wishes to terminate her pregnancy should have that right.

It's the sea lion's body, after all, and politicians have no right to tell her what to do.

End Quote.

Don't get me wrong, I am totally against abortion as a means of birth control AND against animal cruelty BUT this article is about animal cruelty NOT abortion. If anyone wants to talk about abortion then go find an article about that and let's stick to what this article is about which is animal cruelty.

[iceman_1960]

I don't see the logic either, but I'd like to state my opinion that any pregnant female sea lion who wishes to terminate her pregnancy should have that right.

It's the sea lion's body, after all, and politicians have no right to tell her what to do.

[iceman_1960]

"We live in a society where a man can be arrested for stabbing a sea lion yet women are given the right to murder unborn babies (human beings!!) through a process called abortion every single day."
- Posted by singinrick at 09:20 PM : Jul 28, 2007

There is no way an abortion in the first trimester is the killing of a human being.

If stopping "potential life" is killing a human being, then a homicide is committed every time you have a wet dream, and you should be pressuring your Congressman to find a way to prevent that from happening.

[jamnjim18]

This person goes and stabs a weak, defensless creature over the matter of a $0.50 piece of bait out to be hung out to dry. With all the cruality and inhumane acts going on these days with Vick and his alledged dog fighting ring and this charactor stabbing a Sea Lion, its time to crack down on society so that our kids don't grow up being as bad or worse than we are. This guy ought to be charged to the fullest extent of the law, because if he can stab an innocent animal, who is he going to stab next? Someone in his family for taking food out of the fridge or better yet, some stranger on the sidewalk who steps on his pumas? (shoe)

[jamnjim18]

This person goes and stabs a weak, defensless creature over the matter of a $0.50 piece of bait out to be hung out to dry. With all the cruality and inhumane acts going on these days with Vick and his alledged dog fighting ring and this charactor stabbing a Sea Lion, its time to crack down on society so that our kids don't grow up being as bad or worse than we are. This guy ought to be charged to the fullest extent of the law, because if he can stab an innocent animal, who is he going to stab next? Someone in his family for taking food out of the fridge or better yet, some stranger on the sidewalk who steps on his pumas? (shoe)

[jamnjim18]

This person goes and stabs a weak, defensless creature over the matter of a $0.50 piece of bait out to be hung out to dry. With all the cruality and inhumane acts going on these days with Vick and his alledged dog fighting ring and this charactor stabbing a Sea Lion, its time to crack down on society so that our kids don't grow up being as bad or worse than we are. This guy ought to be charged to the fullest extent of the law, because if he can stab an innocent animal, who is he going to stab next? Someone in his family for taking food out of the fridge or better yet, some stranger on the sidewalk who steps on his pumas? (shoe)