Underage Suspect Confesses to Bow and Arrow Dolphin Slaying
After being shot with a steel-tipped hunting arrow, it took a dolphin recently found dead in an Alabama bayou at least five days to finally succumb to its injuries. Now investigators believe they have caught the culprit, an unnamed juvenile.
According to NOAA, the suspect gave authorities a written confession and the weapon used in the crime, the compound bow seen below.
"I just really can't understand why anyone would cause this kind of harm to something that's harmless to people," an Orange Beach, Alabama official told WALA-TV.
Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, killing a dolphin is a federal offense punishable by up to a year in jail and $100,000 in fines.
