Judge rejects request to stop Oregon, Washington from killing sea lions to protect salmon

[flashl]

Source: Oregonian Live


The Humane Society has filed suit and sought a preliminary court injunction against the Bonneville Dam plan

A federal judge on Wednesday refused to stop Oregon and Washington from trapping and killing California sea lions at Bonneville Dam this spring to keep them from gobbling endangered salmon.

The Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit against the plan and asked for a preliminary court injunction to stop it.

Humane Society attorneys argued that culling sea lions won't significantly benefit threatened salmon and steelhead runs. Shooting the animals would harm Columbia River kayakers and others who have relationships with individual sea lions, they said.

...
Humane Society officials said the killing of sea lions at Bonneville Dam would be the first government-led killing since at least 1994, when Congress beefed up protection of marine mammals.

Oregonian Live

Read more: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1208402726146010.xml&coll=7

[liberaldem4ever]

1. Good grief!

Isn't there some way to relocate all of them? What about the Sea Lion Caves near Newport, OR? Why can't they take them there? I can't believe that killing them is the only choice. Stupid judge. :grr:

[depakid]

9. The current plan involves relocation

The sad fact (that the judge and others recognize) is that something has to be done. Bonneville's fish ladders are an unnatural bottleneck that these animals exploit, and as with many management decisions involving limited resources and competing interests, there aren't any easy choices.

[liberaldem4ever]

10. I understand that there are two sides to the story

I just hope that they try every single thing they can before they resort to killing them. There are so many sea lions at the Sea Lion Caves, it just looks like they could send the ones they can't place somewhere else there. Sometimes people don't try hard enough to save animals when killing them is cheaper and easier.

[depakid]

12. Chances are that if released down near Florence, they'd find their way right back

Tough to deter these critters- they're intelligent, crafty and stubborn. And they've discovered quite the boon.

Biologists (who know a LOT more than any of us) have been trying to work out a solution to this local problem for many years.

In that regard, I think it's important for people to recognize that this situation is quite different than say, opening up hunting for wolves across the Western states.

[liberaldem4ever]

14. You're right-they would go back

I didn't think about that. It's just a sad situation. I've seen my local news station in Seattle show where there a similar situation in other places too with the sea lions gorging themselves on salmon. I always side on the animals side first(that is just my nature), but I know it is complicated and people will try to do it the non-kill way if they can.

[hack89]

11. How far can sea lions swim?

will they simply come back?

[pscot]

17. The critters have been deported

as far away as California. They're back inside two weeks. If only we could get high end restaurants to put Sea Lion on the menu as a gourmet delicacy.

[saigon68]

2. Maybe some of those Canadian Baby Harp Seal Killers can be hired

They can get visa's easily because they are white'

They have the training and knowledge required to "Split Skulls"

[ORDagnabbit]

3. maybe humans should be prevented from overfishing... instead of killing the wildlife that depends on

eating salmon?

[flvegan]

6. This would be the correct solution.

[medeak]

4. NYTimes says salmon will be $40 lb

due to kill off disease progressing from South America

Perhaps that had something to do with decision?

edited to say I filled up my freezer big time

[saigon68]

15. Only stock brokers and Halliburton execs can afford to buy them

[medeak]

5. more bad news for salmon due to Bush administration

http://www.oregonwild.org/about/press-room/press-clips/salmon-dying-in-lower-klamath-river

[Botany]

7. If you want to protect the genetics of wild run salmon & steelhead .......

.... this might be the one of the things that has to be done. This
has little to do with harvesting the fish for human consumption
but protecting the fish from becoming extinct. Sure removal of
dams, habitat protection, protection from diseases passed on by
"fish farms," and other management tools are also needed.

Sorry but nature sometimes is not pretty.

[pansypoo53219]

8. easier

than damn removal. america likes easy!

[lonestarnot]

13. WTF!

Just kill everything then we won't have to worry about any of them. :sarcasm:

[Codedonkey]

16. Simple solution,,, get rid of damn dam.

[Thothmes]

18. And replace the

Megawatts of electricity that it generate with electricity generated by coal, natural gas, or maybe nuclear power?

[Codedonkey]

19. No, those are just as bad...

We can power our homes with the blood of furries and the sea lions they are murdering for lulz of it all.

How about solar, wind or tidal power?

[Thothmes]

20. Fine

Lets put up hundeds of those wind towers in the Columbia River Gorge. You would have to pave the entire central parts of both Washington and Oregon state with solar panels to replace the power that are generated by the dams on the Columbia River. Lets go ahead and line the Oregon and Washington coasts with tidal power generating. Wonder what that will do for the sea lions. The sea lion problem consists of a couple of dozen animals that have decided that waiting at the fish ladders for dinner is easier than hunting for it in the open ocean. We are not talking about large populations of these animals.