NAPLES, Fla — The pictures are simply disturbing.
One dead dolphin was found off last month Naples, Fla. with a large stab wound to its head. Another was found shot to death along Pensacola Beach.
At first, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement offered $20,000 for information that leads to the person or people responsible.
NOAA announced Monday it is increasing the reward to $54,000.
"These are shocking cases, these are really horrific cases," Stacey Horstman with NOAA said. "We know that all of these cases were acts of intentional harm against these animals, they occurred while they were alive."
RELATED: 'These are shocking cases': NOAA says dolphins killed had most likely been fed fish in the past
There is also a reward for information on a 2019 case. A dolphin was found dead from a puncture wound in May of last year off Captiva Island, and no one has been arrested yet.
It is illegal to feed, harass, hunt or kill wild dolphins. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, anyone caught and prosecuted can face up to a year in jail and a $100,000 fine per violation.
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