Two dogs that attacked and killed a juvenile New Zealand fur seal at Kakanui left a Timaru woman upset, wondering whether she could have saved it.
Irene Mitchell, at Kakanui for whitebaiting, was asleep in her camper van about 7.15am yesterday at the All Day Bay parking area when the sound of barking dogs woke her.
She assumed they were just being exercised on the beach.
But when the noise continued for about 20-30 minutes, she went outside to discover two greyhound-type dogs attacking what she thought was a dead young seal in the lagoon.
She yelled at the dogs, which started moving towards their owner, who was standing nearby with four greyhounds on leads.
When he saw Mrs Mitchell, he started walking south with the other dogs, calling the two free dogs, which ran after him.
''It seemed to me he was having trouble controlling the dogs,'' she said.
As the dogs left, the seal sat up then rolled over.
''I was amazed. I thought it was already dead,'' she said.
''I just wonder, if I had got up when I first heard the barking, [whether] I could have saved it.''
By the time the seal was pulled from the shallow water, it was dead.
Dog bites could be seen on its body, head and fins.
About a metre long, the seal appeared to be a juvenile.
Footprints showed the man had walked from the beach along the lagoon towards where his dogs were mauling the seal.
Mrs Mitchell notified the Department of Conservation, which would collect the seal.
Doc biodiversity manager Jim Fyfe said action could be taken under the Dog Control Act, which provided infringement notice options, or the Marine Mammals Protection Act, which provided for a fine of up to $250,000 and/or six months' imprisonment, against any person responsible for the death of a seal.
''We have had a few cases recently [of seals being killed] which have come close to imprisonment,'' he said.
Anyone who had information about the dog owner was asked to contact conservation services manager David Agnew in Dunedin.
Juvenile seals were especially vulnerable at this time of year because, after about eight months of suckling from their mothers, they were left on their own, Mr Fyfe said.
