Marine Mammal Burials In Laguna Beach 'Common Practice' City Says

LAGUNA BEACH, CA —South Laguna residents confronted a city worker as he buried a dead sea lion in front of their coastal homes early Sunday morning. The worker called the police when they challenged him to stop his backhoe. Police arrived at the scene and informed neighbors to "take it up with the city."

Patch reported the instance, reaching out for an answer from the City of Laguna Beach Animal Control and Public Works Departments.

Late Thursday, Mark McAvoy, Laguna Beach's Director of Public Works, wrote to Patch, explaining the city's practice of burying deceased ocean animals along the shoreline.

Read: Seal, Sea Lion Beach Burials Disturb Laguna Beach Locals

"Burying deceased marine animals at the beach is a common, legal practice among coastal cities," McAvoy says. He explained the timeline of events as they transpired and what the city plans on doing, moving forward.

Early Sunday morning, the Laguna Beach Public Works Department was notified that a deceased seal had washed up on Main Beach, he said.

"City staff from the Public Works Department buried the seal in the sand so that it would not cause a foul smell or be tampered with," McAvoy says. That day was an expected busy day on the beach for visitors, according to McAvoy.

Resident Craig Walker discussed the burial and his concerns with Patch.

Though the Sunday incident was a small harbor seal, Walker says the previous week's sea lion buried "was a 500 pounder. Not sure I like the smell of dead sea lions leaking into the ocean where I surf and dive."

Though residents proclaimed it was the third such instance of a beach burial, McAvoy's records show it was the "second seal buried in this location in the last month."

Patch has reached out to the city to learn their regulations on the disposition of the carcasses.

"City staff prefers to dispose of deceased animals elsewhere whenever a safe removal is possible," McAvoy wrote. In Sunday’s instance, the city determined that a burial was the safest, most efficient option available.

Walker and his neighbors questioned the practice of burying the found seals or sea lions at all? The Pacific Marine Mammal Center, which cares for ailing cetaceans, seals and sea lions, sees a 19 percent mortality rate of their rescues, according to Krysta Higuchi, spokeswoman for the center. Those animals are cremated, she says.

McAvoy and the Public Works Department say they have heard the resident complaints and are investigating with city staff whether there are other options for future removal of deceased marine life.

What are your thoughts on this practice? Do you feel the city should come up with a better plan of action? Let us know in the comments or by emailing your Patch editor.

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Seal, Sea Lion Beach Burials Disturb Laguna Beach Locals