Bloodbath on the Columbia: Sea lions die at the hands of the State amid lies and cover-up

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.

It should be noted that sea lions are native to this river, and have co-existed with the salmon here for thousands of years. Vast numbers of salmon and sea lions lived together here throughout the centuries, without detriment to either species. But in the 200 years since Lewis and Clark brought European "civilization" crashing into Cascadia, the salmon have gone from 20 million to less than 1% of that number. At the same time that the salmon were disappearing from the waters of the earth, so were the sea lions. Hunters killed every last seal and sea lion on the Columbia in a hundred-year orgy of death that was only brought to a stop with the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (MMPA). Once the killing stopped, the sea lions began to return to the area (though the seals have never come back). The MMPA was a resounding success, because it stopped all killing. Alas, the Endangered Species Act, which was supposed to protect the salmon, did not -- fishermen were, and are, still allowed to kill salmon on the Columbia, despite the fact that the fish are very nearly gone from the planet. If the Endangered Species Act had protected the salmon the way that the MMPA protected sea lions, both species would have returned in historical numbers. But there was too much money in the fishing industry for anyone to even consider ending the fishing, even if it will ultimately mean the end of all fishing anyway, once all the salmon are gone.

It is human predation that is killing off all the salmon on earth -- up here in Cascadia and all down the coast. It is not sea lion predation. You cannot "save" one species by killing off their naturally co-evolved predators. This has been tried repeatedly by wildlife "managers" who want to balance the equations of risk and commerce on the backs of other animals, rather than humans. It has never worked, and has always come with catastrophic consequences. Nor can you claim to be trying to "save" a species at the same time that you kill tens of thousands of them in your nets.

Throughout the killing program, the government has exhibited both a callous disregard for the lives of others, and a pattern of bungling incompetence that led to an undercover investigation by the Sea Lion Defense Brigade and Northwest In Defense of Animals. Yesterday, advocates from these groups uncovered irrefutable evidence of deceit and cover-up surrounding the identities of animals that the states did not actually have the authority to kill.

In order to get permission from the Federal government to kill animals who are supposed to be protected by congressional mandate under the MMPA, state wildlife agencies had to prove that they were "only" going after certain, very specific, readily identifiable animals who were known to have - GASP! - eaten fish. There is a "hit list" of about 150 animals whom they are authorized to kill. On Wednesday of this week, they trapped an animal whom they claimed was on that list, but who was not. When confronted with this discrepancy, officials quickly tried to cover up the identity of the animal, claiming it was actually another animal. Advocates have proof that the State is lying about that animal, calling into question whether they are being honest about any of the other animals.

This morning, advocates with the Sea Lion Defense Brigade and NW In Defense of Animals issued a demand that the State cease and desist the trapping program immediately, as they were holding at least one animal that they did not have the authorization to hold or kill. The government responded by claiming, throughout the day, that the animals would not be killed. Then, at closing time today, just before leaving for the day and the weekend, they announced on their website that three remaining animals have been killed. A fourth was executed yesterday. At ten till 5 today, Matt Rossell with In Defense of Animals was on the telephone with Rick Hargrave, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, asking about the status of the sea lions who were being held. Hargrave simply dismissed the call, stating that he was on his way out of the office, and that if we wanted to know about the sea lions we should "just check the website." He then terminated the phone call. When activists went to the website, they found the announcement that the sea lions were dead. These are animals whom Hargrave had claimed, throughout the day, would not be "euthanized."

The state has been lying and bungling and taking the lives of innocent beings. They have been deceiving the public and clumsily covering up their mistakes. They lied in court documents to the Federal government to get permission to kill the sea lions, they've lied to advocates seeking information about the status and whereabouts of animals in their custody, and they have lied to the corporate media -- and of course, the corporate media just took whatever the State told them as gospel and failed to dig for the truth. Now, they must be stopped.

The killing on the Columbia must stop. We need people willing to stand up for the sea lions.

Please contact the Sea Lion Defense Brigade and/or NW In Defense of Animals to find out how you can help to stop the bloodbath. You can contact the Sea Lion Defense Brigade by emailing info [at] sealiondefensebrigade.org.
Or call IDA at (503)249-9996.

See sealiondefensebrigade.org for more information and updates.