In Kazakhstan, a seal was beaten unconscious by tourists so ‘children could take pictures with it’.
Roksana Panashchuk
The incident took place in a village called Kuryk, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. The filmed, disgusting ordeal was recently shared on social media.
Roksana Panashchuk
The video shows a group of men using sticks and boulders to attack the seal after it came close to the shore.
People gathered and witnessed the violence, but no one intervened to help the seal.
An unnamed witness said told local media:
They beat the seal up until it passed out. Then they pulled it out of the water so that children could take pictures and have fun. After that, they threw the motionless body back into the sea. I don’t know if it survived.
Saken Dildakhmet, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources condemned their actions:
The way people acted in the video is outrageous and wild. Such an attitude can cause a great damage to the fauna of the Caspian Sea and adversely affect the behaviour of these animals who may become aggressive and attack people. We ask you to show respect to nature.