A $20,000 reward is being offered for information leading to whoever was responsible for fatally shooting a bottlenose dolphin found riddled with bullets on a Louisiana beach last month.
A person spotted the dead juvenile dolphin March 13 on West Mae’s Beach in Cameron Parish, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA, said Tuesday in a statement.
The dolphin had “injuries consistent with being shot with a firearm,” NOAA said.
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating, the organization said.
After the dolphin was found, it was reported to the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline, NOAA said. Then NOAA worked with a partner, the Audubon Aquarium Rescue, which transported it to the Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans for a necropsy, an autopsy for an animal, NOAA said.
The necropsy showed “multiple bullets lodged in the carcass, including in the brain, spinal cord, and heart of the dolphin. The animal appeared to have died from the trauma, which occurred at or near the time of death,” according to NOAA.
The reward money is for “information leading to a criminal conviction or the assessment of a civil penalty,” NOAA said.
Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call the NOAA Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964.
