Sea Lions Being Executed on Columbia River

international | animal rights | other press Sunday April 05, 2009 17:57 by Sea Lion Defense Brigade - Sea Lion Defense Brigade info at sealiondefensebrigade dot org (503)249-9996

Please Help Save These Animals

In the Northwest United States, on the Columbia river, a war is being waged against Nature. Humans are at war with the fish, with the sea lions, and with the river itself. As fishing industry is killing off tens of thousands of endangered salmon, and the Bonneville dam is killing of tens of thousands more, wildlife "managers" are executing sea lions as scapegoats so that they can raise fishing quotas yet again, for the third year in a row, on the endangered salmon. The sea lions are supposed to be congressionally protected, but wildlife "managers" claim that they must kill off predators in order to leave more fish for fishermen to kill in their nets. PLEASE HELP US to stop this.

Save Us

The story below is from Indybay IMC. I'm reposting here because international attention to this matter is crucial. Please email [email protected] to find out how you can help save the sea lions.

On the Columbia river, between Oregon and Washington, State wildlife "management" agencies are brutally executing sea lions in an effort to appease fishermen, who claim that the sea lions are eating all the salmon. (The fishermen want to "save" the salmon ...for their nets.) Trapping and killing began on March 1, 2009, with the first deaths occurring shortly after. Four more animals were just put to death in the past 24 hours, despite heroic efforts to save them, and the life of a fifth hangs in the balance.

The sea lions are dying up here. These are intelligent, sentient beings capable of learning and passing culture to their young. They are animals who form long-term relationships that persist throughout their lives. For many years, scientists have known that these beings have the capacity for language and abstract thought. They are curious and gregarious, and they love life. And today, four more of them are dead. Executed by the State for the crime of trying to feed themselves.

Full article at: http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/04/03/18585922.php