Sea Lion Killing Suspended on Columbia River

Plans to kill as many as 85 sea lions at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River were temporarily suspended after extensive campaigning from our non-profit partner The Humane Society of the United States and over 30,000 signatures from concerned members at Care2.

The original proposal was to kill up to 255 sea lions at the Bonneville Dam over the next three years in order to rebuild the salmon population. Though sea lions eat at most 4.2 percent of adult salmon, the federal government has zeroed in on this marine mammal in an effort to protect endangered salmon.

“Blaming sea lions is nothing but a distraction from facing up to the more politically difficult reasons why salmon are in trouble,” said Kurt Beardslee, executive director of Wild Fish Conservancy.

We are thrilled that the sea lion killing has been suspended, but must continue our efforts to make this suspension permanent. “We are relieved to have won this temporary stay of execution for sea lions, but will continue to press our case to see that federal laws, and not the sea lions, are executed,” said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, senior vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation for The HSUS. “NMFS’s decision to kill hundreds of native sea lions is irrational and illegal, and should be permanently shelved.”

This temporary ban will buy us time to further campaign for a permanent ban on sea lion killing. “The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) needs to look objectively at dam operations and over-harvest, hatchery practices, and the stocking of non-native fish. Addressing a single one of these pervasive problems would help salmon far more than killing sea lions at Bonneville.”

Thanks for your help on getting a temporary ban on sea lion killing at Bonneville Dam!
TAKE ACTION: Help us continue our efforts to get a permanent ban by signing this petition.

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