1 week ago
The lawyer for a tourer accused of hurling a stone astatine an endangered Hawaiian monk seal says his customer was trying to protect oversea turtles and has since been assaulted, threatened and doxed.
Igor Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, is scheduled to look successful tribunal successful Honolulu connected Wednesday connected charges of harassing and attempting to harass a protected animal.
Earlier this month, a witnesser recorded what prosecutors opportunity was a video of Lytvynchuk throwing nan stone astatine a Hawaiian monk seal astatine a Maui beach. He later made arrangements to surrender successful nan Seattle area arsenic typical agents pinch nan National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) were seeking to apprehension him, prosecutors said.
The video drew wide condemnation and demands for prosecution successful Hawaii, including from Maui’s mayor, Richard Bissen. Scientists identified nan seal arsenic an big antheral known arsenic R404, according to Noaa.
In a abstracted video statement, nan politician identified nan seal arsenic “Lani”, calling her “our beloved friend” and “not conscionable a seal to america … [but a] portion of our water ‘ohana successful Lahaina”.
“Many of our residents cognize her, watch complete her and attraction profoundly astir her wellbeing. In fact, members of my squad successful Lahaina person been search and looking retired for her for immoderate clip now,” Bissen said.
He called Lytvynchuk’s alleged behaviour “unacceptable”, saying: “As mayor, I not only person a work to protect nan group of Maui county, but besides nan wildlife animals that stock these islands pinch us. Our relationship to nan ocean, nan onshore and nan creatures that telephone Hawaii location is portion of who we are.”
According to prosecutors, a authorities section of onshore and earthy resources serviceman investigated a study of Hawaiian monk seal harassment successful Lahaina, nan organization that was mostly destroyed by a deadly wildfire successful 2023. A witnesser showed nan serviceman a video of nan seal swimming successful shallow h2o erstwhile Lytvynchuk threw nan rock, described by a witnesser arsenic nan size of a coconut, straight astatine nan seal, narrowly missing its head, prosecutors said successful a criminal complaint.
When a witnesser confronted Lytvynchuk, he said “he did not attraction and was ‘rich’ capable to salary immoderate fines”, according to nan complaint.
Afterward, a man “brutally assaulted” Lytvynchuk, his attorney, Myles Breiner, told nan Associated Press. Lytvynchuk declined to record a constabulary study connected nan assault, nan lawyer said.
Breiner explained his customer had been to Hawaii antecedently and was acquainted pinch oversea turtles, but not Hawaiian monk seals. Lytvynchuk is simply a fisher and thought nan seal was an fierce oversea lion, nan lawyer said.
“So his consequence was not to wounded this monk seal, but to get it distant from nan turtles,” Breiner said.
The incident shows Noaa must do much to amended nan nationalist astir protecting Hawaiian monk seals, said Brian Schatz, nan US legislator for Hawaii, successful a statement.
Since nan video surfaced, Lytvynchuk has faced decease threats and doxing, including receiving a package astatine his location containing what appeared to beryllium feces, Breiner said.
He said his customer was being treated unfairly because he was a achromatic outsider. “The immense mostly of attacks connected monk seal and turtle are by locals,” he said.
Known successful ancient Hawaiian arsenic “ʻīlio holo one ka uaua”, meaning “dog that runs successful unsmooth water”, nan seals are endemic to nan Hawaiian Islands. They typically hunt for nutrient beyond nan contiguous shoreline, diving successful waters betwixt 60 and 300ft heavy successful hunt of fish, octopus and crustaceans.
Hawaiian monk seals were hunted to nan brink of extinction during nan 19th century. One of nan world’s astir critically endangered marine mammals, they proceed to look a wide scope of human-driven threats, including residence nonaccomplishment caused by coastal development, contamination and rising oversea levels linked to nan ambiance crisis.
They are besides susceptible to entanglement successful sportfishing cogwheel specified arsenic hooks and commercialized nets, while diseases associated pinch inland h2o runoff further frighten their survival.
Lytvynchuk is charged pinch violations of nan Endangered Species Act and nan Marine Mammal Protection Act.
If convicted, he faces up to 1 twelvemonth successful situation for each charge. He besides faces a good of up to $50,000 nether nan Endangered Species Act and a good of up to $20,000 nether nan Marine Mammal Protection Act.
