Suit filed to stop killings of sea lions

Tue., March 25, 2008

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

PORTLAND – The Humane Society of the United States, Wild Fish Conservancy and two citizens have filed suit in U.S. District Court to halt the authorized killing of sea lions at the Bonneville Dam in the Columbia River.

The lawsuit, filed Monday, had been filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., last week but was withdrawn when the fish conservancy group asked to join.

The National Marine Fisheries services has granted a request by Oregon and Washington to kill up to 85 animals a year over five years to protect endangered or threatened salmon runs.

The Humane Society says federal law allows killing sea lions when it is proved they have a “significant negative impact” on salmon. They called the permit to kill the animals “outrageous and patently illegal.”

The state of Oregon has said it would not begin killing or trapping sea lions until Washington State acts, which will not be until after hearings and a public comment period set to expire April 4.

The order by the National Marine Fisheries Service encourages trapping the animals if possible and relocating them to sea parks, aquariums or similar facilities.

The lawsuit alleges that the fisheries service is violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by authorizing the killings without determining whether the predation is having a “significant negative impact on the decline or recovery” of salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The decision, the lawsuit maintains, is in violation of the requirements of the act and should be set aside.

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