Chilling footage appears to show sailing boat owners shooting at killer whales off the coast of Gibraltar as police launch investigation

Animal rights campaigners have demanded an investigation over chilling footage showing sailing boat owners shooting at killer whales.

A ship captain admitted in May after his yacht was ambushed by a pod of killer whales off the south of Spain that they could be in danger of armed retaliation from other sailors whose vessels were damaged.

Now, following another in a series of incidents over the last three years involving the majestic marine mammals, a video emerged of the occupants of a sailing boat shooting at a group of them off Tarifa in the Gibraltar Strait as they surrounded the vessel and appeared to interact with it.

Tourists and crew on a nearby whale watching boat could be heard yelling at the yacht owners and recriminating their actions before its captain sounded the vessel’s horn.

Spanish animal rights party PACMA is now demanding an urgent investigation into the incident, which occurred on Thursday afternoon around seven nautical miles off Tarifa.

Tourists and crew on a nearby whale watching boat could be heard yelling at the yacht owners and recriminating their actions before its captain sounded the vessel’s horn

It was not immediately clear today what type of weapon had been used in an attempt to scare away the killer whales and stop them damaging the yacht’s rudder, although local reports were pointing towards it being an air rifle and some have even suggested firecrackers could also have been used.

The yachtsmen involved have been identified by police after being tracked down to a port in the province of Almeria in south-east Spain.

A search of the vessel has taken place and the individuals, whose nationalities have not been made public, informed they are under investigation to determine whether a crime has been committed.

PACMA said in a statement ahead of the police search: ‘Killer whales are classified as a vulnerable species in the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species (CEEA), so any action taken with the purpose of killing, capturing, chasing or disturbing them is absolutely prohibited.

‘We are of course going to inform the relevant authorities about this incident.’

A spokesman for Tarifa-based dolphin and whale watching agency Tumares, whose crew and passengers witnessed the distressing scenes, said: ‘It was very unpleasant.

‘We are animal lover and defend killer whales.

‘We are concerned about their wellbeing and worried some may have been hurt in this incident.’

The marine mammals have been involved in a number of incidents involving sailing boats in recent years in the Strait of Gibraltar as well as off Portugal and Galicia in north-west Spain.

They tend to target the rudders of yachts, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and leaving their owners needing help from coastguards to reach dry land in many cases.

Spanish animal rights party PACMA is now demanding an urgent investigation into the incident, which occurred on Thursday afternoon around seven nautical miles off Tarifa

It was not immediately clear today what type of weapon had been used in an attempt to scare away the killer whales and stop them damaging the yacht’s rudder, although local reports were pointing towards it being an air rifle and some have even suggested firecrackers could also have been used

The yachtsmen involved have been identified by police after being tracked down to a port in the province of Almeria in south-east Spain

Earlier this week frightened tourists filmed themselves trapped aboard damaged yacht Santa Barbara off the coast off Sesimbra in Portugal by killer whales seen ramming the vessel and ripping off its rudder.

The reasons behind the killer whales’ interest in sailboats is still being investigated by the scientific community.

Many experts have suggested the incidents are down to the marine mammals, especially the younger ones in pods, playing. Others have said they believe they could be revenge attacks for the previous actions of rogue sailors.

Earlier this year the Spanish government launched a programme to tag some of the killer whales so their movements could be monitored and the possibility of so-called ‘interactions’ with sailing boats minimised.

Some sailors have however been vocal in accusing the governments of Spain and Portugal of not doing enough to tackle the problem.

One recently urged other boat owners to ‘vote with their feet’ and pick other sailing routes so the two countries’ governments ‘get the message as tourism plays a massive part in their economies.’

In May, after his boat was targeted, Sebastian Destremau was quoted as saying: ‘I am very concerned about the near future for these beasts and I think we have a huge responsibility to protect these animals.

‘The problem we have is that media are emphasizing the aggression and so people are getting armed, they’re getting a shotgun onboard their boat.’