Hawaii residents fined $20K after Hawaiian monk seal pup mauled by unleashed dogs

By AUDREY McAVOY
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — U.S. officials are fining two Hawaii residents $20,000 for their part in the fatal mauling of a female Hawaiian monk seal pup by unleashed dogs. Hawaiian monk seals are a critically endangered species. Only 1,600 remain in the wild. The loss of a female is a particularly hard blow to conservation efforts because she could have grown up to give birth to pups of her own. A necropsy found the pup known as PO7 suffered puncture wounds consistent with dog bites and hemorrhaging consistent with being shaken by a dog. Authorities didn’t say didn’t say how the accused were allegedly connected to the unleashed dogs.