The U.S. Humane Society had harsh criticisms for the trapping program for sea lions following news that six of the animals found dead in traps had died from heat exhaustion in the enclosed spaces.

AP photo

HSUS state director Kelly Peterson described the multi-agency trapping program as “ill-conceived and poorly executed.”

She said the only fortunate thing that came out of the experience was that the sea lion capture program was terminated for at least the rest of the year.

“The federal government should have done a better job of protecting these creatures that it promised to live-trap and relocate. That the sea lions died of heat prostration on a day when temperatures didn’t go above 60 degrees seems unrealistic. But whether they were deliberately killed or whether they died in the cages of heat stroke, this was a tragedy that could have been avoided in the first place,” Peterson said.

The six sea lions were recently found dead in traps near the Bonneville Dam, shortly after the trapping program had begun.

The conclusions were based on a review of the preliminary necropsies by NOAA Fisheries, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

When the six sea lions were first found dead, officials believed they had been shot. However, NOAA Fisheries later backed off that conclusion, saying the necropsies found no evidence of recent gunshot wounds.

According to the necropsies, all signs indicate the animals died from heat prostration. Details from the report were expected in about ten days.

When biologists first found the dead animals, it was assumed they were shot because a once-closed trap had an open door, and the floor of it was covered in blood.

X-rays did show metal fragments in the neck area of two of the sea lions. A metal slug was also in another, but scientists said the metal did not appear to cause the deaths, and could have been old puncture wounds common in sea lions.

Weather records show the high temperature in the area was 61 degrees during the day the sea lions were trapped in the cages.

The animals are federally protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Oregon and Washington state were granted the rights to trap the animals to keep them from eating salmon.

After the sea lion deaths, a court put trapping on hold until next spring in response to a threatened lawsuit by the U.S. Humane Society. Peterson said the USHS was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to anyone who may know how the traps were closed on the sea lions, eventually resulting in their deaths.