Environment Watch : Cruel and Unusual

For those who have thrilled to the sight of a pelican flying low over the ocean waves before scooping up a meal, it’s hard to believe that anyone would look upon this bird as an enemy. But apparently many people do, especially fishermen.

Pelicans, which frequently get snagged by hooks or lines when they go after fishermen’s bait, are being deliberately killed or mutilated and left to die along a wide section of Southern California’s coast. Animal rescue groups have found birds with their throats slashed or their beaks sawed off in such widely separated areas as Dana Point, Ventura, Redondo Beach and Marina del Rey.

One bird in Newport Beach was found impaled on a utility pole. Another was seen being whirled around by a man holding its beak; it was smashed against a wall before being thrown back into the ocean.

It’s hard to imagine the kind of person who would be capable of such cruelty. Unfortunately, prosecution is rare in these cases because few of the culprits are caught in the act.

More often, the pelicans are injured accidentally, becoming caught in the lines of fishermen who wish them no ill. Unless removed, the hooks tear at their beaks, and often the monofilaments wind around their wings. Those who want to help untangle a pelican can try reeling it in, grabbing its bill and folding its wings before gently trying to remove the hook.

Once in danger of extinction, the pelican has recovered, gaining in numbers over the last two decades. Like all creatures great and small, it deserves decent treatment.