Editor's Note: Why in the world would anyone shoot sea lions, the people responsible for this horrible crime need to be brought to justice! It's not enough for the Humane Society to fight for the Sea Lions.

Investigators searched for clues on Monday in the shooting deaths of six protected sea lions at a dam between Washington state and Oregon, while officials halted a controversial trapping program aimed at stopping the mammals from eating endangered salmon.

The discovery of the dead sea lions on Sunday follows other shootings in recent years that caused bodies riddled with bullet holes to wash up on the banks of the region's Columbia River.

"This is being investigated by Washington, Oregon and our fish cops," said National Marine Fisheries Service spokesman Brian Gorman. Authorities would not say if they had any suspects.

The deaths temporarily halted a new trapping program in Oregon and Washington, which won permission from the federal government in March to trap and kill the protected pinnipeds to save endangered salmon.

The Humane Society sued to block the killing and while the suit is pending, the states are limited to trapping the mammals and sending them to zoos and aquariums. Seven were trapped and transported to an aquarium in late April, where one died.

"We are calling on the government to stop the trapping program," Sharon Young, marine issues field director of the Humane Society of the United States said...