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SAN DIEGO (TNND) — An 18-year-old California man who repeatedly kicked a sea lion pleaded guilty to violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California on Thursday said Tyler Muehl, of La Jolla, admitted that “he kicked at the sea lion four different times and that he made contact while kicking at the animal” during a July 22 encounter near Ellen Browning Scripps Park.
“Intentionally striking or kicking a marine mammal is not only illegal — it is dangerous for the well-being of the animal,” NOAA-Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement West Coast Division Assistant Director Eric Morgan said in a news release.
The incident was caught on video, with several people in the background laughing as Muehl appeared to harass the California sea lion as it sat on a sea wall.
Muehl said he approached the sea lion with his hands raised as though preparing to fight. Prosecutors said he referred to himself as “Max Holloway,” a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion, in the footage.
California 18-year-old pleads guilty after video shows him kicking a sea lion: prosecutors (Screenshot from video courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California)
Prosecutors said Muehl “forcefully kicked at the sea lion’s face,” causing the animal to flinch and recoil.
“After the second kick, the sea lion turned and tried to flee, but Muehl chased after the animal and kicked at it a third time,” prosecutors said. “As the sea lion tried to get away, it stumbled on the sea wall as it fled. Muehl kicked at the sea lion a fourth time and continued to chase the animal, ending his pursuit only when the sea lion escaped over the sea wall and made it to the beach.”
Muehl pleaded guilty to the charge of “knowingly and unlawfully tak[ing] a marine mammal in waters or on lands under the jurisdiction of the United States in that he did harass and hunt.” He also acknowledged that the video accurately captured the incident.
“Federal crime. Federal consequences,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in the release.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits harassing marine mammals. Federal law defines harassment to include actions that could injure an animal or disrupt behaviors such as feeding, breeding, breathing or sheltering.
Muehl was scheduled to be sentenced October 20.