A pregnant seal washed up at a local beauty spot after being shot dead off the Angus coast.
Usan Salmon Fisheries near Montrose has defended the killing and said it was no different “than a farmer protecting its lambs from foxes”.
The seal had been shot legally by a marksman to protect caught salmon before washing up at Corbie Knowe beach at Lunan Bay near Montrose.
Images were posted on social media by environmentalist group Sea Shepherd UK which is using boats and volunteers to monitor legal seal shoots as it campaigns against the practice.
The seal, which had been shot through the head, was recovered by the netting firm and handed to the sea mammal research unit of St Andrews University.
Representatives from the unit confirmed the seal was at an early stage of pregnancy after performing an autopsy.
Usan Salmon Fisheries director George Pullar said: “We have the right to protect our livelihood and, by extension, our nets and any caught salmon from seal attack.
“This is no different than a farmer protecting his lambs from foxes.
“We recovered the seal in question from the beach and it was then handed over to representatives from the sea mammal research unit of St Andrews University in accordance with agreed protocol.”
Sea Shepherd and similar groups are monitoring seal colonies near Thurso and off Angus in their mission to protect the marine ecosystem.
Last month Hunt Saboteurs Association figures pledged to mount a summer-long vigil over the activities of the company, which owns netting rights off the Angus coast and is licensed to kill marauding seals.
That led to protestors and company figures being involved in a stand-off for around an hour in the vicinity of Scurdie Ness lighthouse, near Usan’s base.
More than 200 seals were legally shot by marksmen in Scotland last year to protect stocks of salmon and other fish, according to recent figures.
Common and grey seals are protected under Scottish and EU law but fish farms and salmon fishermen can apply for a licence to cull them.