Sea Lions Shot Dead On Columbia River

Six Federally Protected Sea Lions Found Day After Three Elephant Seals Killed In California

(AP)  Six federally protected sea lions were apparently shot to death on the Columbia River as they lay in open traps put out to ensnare the animals. State and federal authorities are investigating.

The discovery came one day after three elephant seals were found shot to death at a breeding ground in central California.

On Sunday, the carcasses of four California sea lions and two Steller sea lions were found below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River on the border of Oregon and Washington.

The six animals found dead Sunday appear to have been shot by somebody on the Washington side during the night, said Brian Gorman, a spokesman for the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Two closed cages each contained the carcasses of two California sea lions and one Steller sea lion, he said.

Necropsies were planned for all the animals, and the area was being treated as a crime scene by state and federal agencies, Gorman said.

Investigators will try to determine whether there is any link between the animals killed Sunday on the Columbia River and the elephant seals killed Saturday near San Simeon in California, Gorman said.

Washington and Oregon have been granted federal authorization to capture or kill as many as 85 sea lions a year for five years at the base of the dam, where they feed on endangered salmon headed upriver to spawn.

Fishermen and American Indian tribes have pushed to protect the salmon and remove the sea lions, by lethal force if necessary, forcing a delicate balancing act by the federal government.

Seven California sea lions were trapped on the Columbia River starting April 24 after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals approved their capture. One died during a medical inspection before being transferred to a marine amusement park.

The Humane Society of the United States has gone to court to challenge the authorization, with another hearing set for May 8. Until a judge rules, no animals may be legally killed.

Now, as authorities investigate the dead sea lions, all trapping will also be suspended, said Rick Hargrave, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife who was at the scene Sunday.

"We're really shocked," said Sharon Young, a Humane Society spokeswoman, who learned about the sea lion deaths from a reporter.

"We're a nation of laws, and we should expect people to abide by them," Young said.

[acolton1]

I grew up in Oregon. If you go to the coast there are thousands and thousands of sea lions and their population has bounced back in a huge way over the past 30 years. Catching and trapping these Sea Lions does nothing if you relocate them they will just swim back up the Columbia River and be back in 3 weeks, waste of time and tax payers money. Sure you can catch them and give them to Zoos and Sea World but soon everybody will have plenty of Sea Lions. The salmon are the ones endangered and will be extinct in 15 years if we dont do everything possible to help them. These Sea Lions hang out by the Fish Ladders and chow on salmon all day it''s a free buffet for them. Sea Lions are SALT WATER animals and do not belong in the Columbia River or Willamette River near the falls eating endangered salmon all day. I don''t hate Sea Lions but if they are in FRESH WATER sucking up salmon they should be shot, there is no shortage of Sea Lions on the coast to replace the ones by the fish ladders. I AM HAPPY somebody SHOT these Sea Lions and did what needed to be done because the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife lacks the SPINE TO DO THEIR JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON.

If you want to see what kind of IDIOTS work for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, go to GOOGLE and key in "Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife snowball the deer" and read what these IDIOTS did last year and how much tax payer money they wasted.

[acolton1]

Seriously go to Google and key in

"Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife snowball the deer" or go to KGW.com and key in Snowball Deer

Read what these IDIOTS at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife did last year and how much tax payer money they wasted.

Here is a small bit of the article:
Since no charges have been brought against Filipetti or his family, they should be presumed innocent.
His clients are seeking $60,000 in damages.
Filipetti and his family raised Snowball for six years after rescuing her from the side of the road. The family says it spent thousands of dollars on veterinary bills to correct her leg deformities.
The state seized Snowball and her offspring in September because Oregon law prohibits holding wild animals in captivity without a permit.

[acolton1]

I GREW UP IN OREGON. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife needs to PROTECT THE SALMON and get rid of all Sea Lions in the Columbia River and Willamette River. Ask anybody in Oregon or Washington are Sea Lions endangered they will say "NO". I am glad somebody shot the Sea Lions and every Sea Lion in the Columbia or Willamette needs to be shot. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife do your DAM job and protect the salmon and exterminate these pests.

[ringading3]

Howard Dean, who could not win on his run, has now decided that your votes don''t count! He and his hand picked "SUPERDELEGATES" will decide what is best for you. Now shut up and be good little DumboCraps! Florida and Michigan have been "Bad", so now they get to sit in the corner! YeeeeHaaaaa

[acolton1]

The Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River on the border of Oregon and Washington and the Willamette River at Oregon Falls is where these Sea Lions hang out and CHOW all day. The Columbia River is the most managed river in the world with 8 DAMS on the river for hydro-electric power. Who is to blame for destroying the salmons spawning ground building huge road blocks in the river, HUMANS. We need to do everything we can to help the salmon and exterminating all Sea Lions in the Columbia and Willamette needs to be done. I am happy as heck somebody shot these Sea Lions.

[walt1944-2009]

It takes a REAL MAN to shot defenseless animals busy getting lunch or in traps on a river!

How about all you REAL MEN out there prove it by marching down to your closest recruiting office and signing up to shot PEOPLE in IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN. Not the civilians, mind you because they are targets for Blackwater, but the ones who SHOT BACK!!!

That way, your country, the neocon Fascist Nazi Republicans, and the Great Emperor Bush II will be PROUD of you, especially when they pin a medal on your body bag!!!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, more of the same, McCain!!!!

[acolton1]

The Humane Society of the United States are IDIOTS also if they want to protect these Sea Lions in the Columbia River. News Flash you IDIOTS who work for The Humane Society of the United States why dont you get out from behind your desk and go to the Oregon Coast and start counting Sea Lions out on the Rocks thousands and thousands of them. DO YOUR JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON AND EXTERMINATE ALL SEA LIONS THE COLUMBIA RIVER.

[acolton1]

Posted by walt1944 at 01:19 PM : May 05, 2008

I agree with you !

[kaiyo4u]

Posted by acolton1

I agree! I''ve seen them several times sturgeon fishing in the past and they are a hazard to the salmon fisheries. We put the blockades in the river and now we have to manage more appropriately in order to secure the future of a viable food stock.

To Sharon Young of the Humane Society: Yes we are a nation of laws, but those laws are sometimes antiquated and not current. The government being very slow in it''s processes will only insure the very destruction of the salmon.
There are other laws that man has refused to abide by and we are now feeling the effects of man''s inability to comply with (greed, self-righteousness, etc...) or ignorance of those laws.
Until the orcas are replenished, we have to do everything possible to insure the continuing existence of the salmon runs.


I wonder if the federal authorization means both WA and OR can take 85 animals apiece? That would be far fewer seals in the Columbia and the Willamette...

[shanev137]

They probably had broken ankles and were whipped too hard.

[acolton1]

What Happened to all the Wild Salmon is the related story. Here is what happened, Humans build 8 huge hydro-electric dams on the Columbia River blocking the salmon from their spawning grounds. Now the very last of the wild salmon are on the brink of extinction and Sea Lions are eating them up like potato chips and these IDIOTS from the The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and The Humane Society of the United States want us not to kill these Sea Lions that are in the Columbia River. DO YOU JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON AND DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND SHOOT THE SEA LIONS IF BY Bonneville Dam. EXTERMINATE THESE PESTS AND SAVE THE LAST OF THE SALMON.

[acolton1]

Posted by kaiyo4u at 01:32 PM : May 05, 2008

Thanks very much, I am glad you agree.

85 Animals, hahaha. You know if you Shoot one Sea Lion in the Columbia there are thousands and thousands more to just swim up stream and eat the salmon the dam. Sea Lions are not endangered any more just ask anybody from Oregon, Washington or California. THEY NEED TO SHOOT ALL SEA LIONS IN THE COLUMBIA RIVER to protect the salmon.

[acolton1]

Sharon Young I am shocked your such an IDIOT and think the Sea Lions need to be protected. DO YOUR FRICKIN JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON OR GET ANOTHER JOB.

[aerodog]

I don''t care if there''s thousands and thousands of them, you don''t pick off animals with a gun. COWARDS - HEARTLESS, EVIL COWARDS.

[kaiyo4u]

I just did a quick study of the number of dams that are on the Columbia system.
There are a total of 32 dams starting just east of Portland and extending into Eastern Idaho, Western Montana, and Southern British Columbia.

There are 14 dams just on the Columbia, with 12 more on the Snake system, 4 on the Pend O''reille system and 2 on the Elk River system in BC.

It is hard to fathom the extent to which we have decimated the ecological system these rivers contribute to.
I truly believe our Native Americans had it right.

[acolton1]

Sharon Young, a Humane Society spokeswoman, YOUR AN IDIOT.

I am shocked that you are such an IDIOT and have probably never been to Oregon, go count Sea Lions on the Coast and see if they are endangered. The Wild Salmon are almost extinct and you want to protect the Sea Lions, Sharon Young you are very stupid by the time you get off your butt and change the law about the Sea Lions the Wild Salmon will be extinct and IDIOT people like you will be responsible. WAKE UP SHARON YOUNG the salmon are almost gone, your such an IDIOT find another job your not qualified for the one you have with the Humane Society you are very uninformed and stupid.

[acolton1]

Posted by masterballs2 at 02:07 PM :

You have good intentions but they trapped Sea Lions doing the same thing in the Seattle Area and relocated them down to California and 2 weeks later the Sea Lion just swam back to where it was trapped.

Don%u2019t kill the seals and rebuild the salmon runs whatever it takes.

The government does not have the MONEY to rebuild the salmon runs and dams, heck we dont even want to take care of our VETS from IRAQ. Bush as made this country BROKE.

[kaiyo4u]

Posted by aerodog at 02:05 PM:
I do shoot animals when they are in season for supplementing my food stocks. I am a member of P.E.T.A.: People Eating Tasty Animals.

Posted by masterballs2 at 02:07 PM:

It would be a great expense to ship the seals all the way to AK, but the seals would be in a more balanced environment with orcas being the top predator in that region. The influx of fresh seal (and naove) to that region could insure a rebound in the orca population. We could then have orcas off the coast of the Pacific NW again eating more sea lions and helping to keep them in check%u2026 It%u2019s going to be some years before things come to a balance again (if they ever will) and I probably won%u2019t be alive to see it.

The sea lions are known for only eating the belly of the salmon and steelhead then moving to another fish until they are sated. Far less fish make it to the spawning beds and the dead fish though contributing to the ecosystem where they are killed by the sea lions does not improve the region they were intended to spawn in.

[acolton1]

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are all a bunch of IDIOTS.

Google this: "Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife snowball the deer"

Read what the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife did last year to this family and deer and how much tax payer money they wasted and pretty much made everybody who lives in Oregon mad as hell at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, they are all IDIOTS and need to be FIRED.

[acolton1]

I have a question for: kaiyo4u

So don''t you think that the Sea Lion numbers have become out of control. Sleeping on Boats and Docks in California, thousands and thousands of them on the rocks off the coast. Sure Sharks and Killer Whales eat them but the are so many of them.

[rf35]

II haven''t seen the sea lions personally, so I can''t address the sense of having them on the endangered species list. Makes no difference, anyway. If both are listed as endangered, both are entitled to protection. So how do you decide what to do when one endangered species is contributing to the decline of another endangered species? Tough choice.

[kaiyo4u]

have a question for: kaiyo4u

So don''''t you think that the Sea Lion numbers have become out of control. Sleeping on Boats and Docks in California, thousands and thousands of them on the rocks off the coast. Sure Sharks and Killer Whales eat them but the are so many of them.

Posted by acolton1 at 02:46 PM : May 05, 2008

I think they are out of control and our own government is responsible for this outcome.
When a species is put on the endangered or watched list they are closely monitored. When the sea lion population started expanding much like our own population, they should have opened some sort of season on them at that time. Similar to what is going on with the wolves in Idaho.
Orcas are also very few in numbers. I would have loved to see this planet in the 17 and 1800''s.
They are the natural predators of sea lions and are very effective hunters.

Because the seals don''t affect us directly as the wolves do, we (I mean our society) tended give them less consideration than we would a land based predator.

Again, their numbers have greatly increased to the point of opening a season on them. I have watched them in the Colmubia and knew the reason they were there. The bite goes off no matter what you''re fishing for.
I think they may also be partially responsible for the decrease in the sturgeon stocks too.

[irliberal]

Whoever is responsible should be shot. ''nuff said.

[bluestardad]

NATION OF LAWS!

WANT SOME KOOL AID?

THERE IS NOTHING DIFFERENT BETWEEN THE NAZI INVASION OF POLAND IN 1939 AND THE BUSHIT NEOCON INVASION OF IRAQ IN 2003!

START WAR CRIMES TRIALS NOW!

AMERICA STAND UP OR SHUT UP!

[rf35]

kaiyo4u, the difference between the wolves and the sea lions is that the wolves are still genuinely endangered! The rants of a few backward, neocon hicks (including Idaho''s governor) don''t change that fact. The delisting of wolves...another addition to the long list of idiotic moves by the Bush administration. I guess Cheney prefers shooting wolves over shooting lawyers.

[lloydbest1]

So, if sea lions are as numerous as acolton1 claims, and if they are eating salmon up faster than they can replenish their numbers...then why don''t we simply catch and eat sea lions instead? I have never eaten one so I don''t know how they taste, but this would be a solution to the salmon crisis we ought to consider.

[lochlan-2009]

Just little cowards. Typical throughout the country with our youth and red necks.

[rf35]

LloydBest1, excellent idea. I bet they taste like chicken!

[rbailey31]

THE WORLD IS GETTIN MORE EVIL EACH PASSIN DAY ! HAVE YA NOT NOTICED !!!!!!!! BUNCH OF EVIL CRUEL COWARDS,EVIL SICK TWISTED PERVERTS, EVIL ABUSERS OF ALL KINDS,NEED I SAY MORE ? LOOK AT THE WORLD !!

[ahabdearab]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/sealions/questions.htm
Good job shooter! You should get an award. We have tried for years to legally take care of problem, but the bleeding hearts get in the way.

[acolton1]

I grew up in Oregon and have see this first hand.

First of all Sharon Young your an IDIOT its people like that talk and talk and the wild salmon will be extinct in 10 years. YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED FOR YOUR JOB. Sharon Young and the 9th Court do your JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON.

When a "SEA" Lion leaves the OCEAN and swims up river it is no longer in the "SEA OR OCEAN" and sould loose its protection and should be SHOT. It''s a River Varmet and need to be killed on asap. How about Sea Lion steaks, jerkey, and I BET THAT SEA LION FAT will make good BIO DIESEL. IF ANYBODY wants to read what the Public is saying in Portland Oregon go to KGW.com, click on News and then Local News and at the bottom click on More Local news. SHOOT THE SEA LIONS IN THE RIVER AND SAVE THE SALMON. I am glad somebody finally took action and SHOT THESE PESTS.

[acolton1]

There are so many sea lions if you go to the Oregon Coast and look out on the rocks there are thousand and thousands of them. You cant trap them and relocate them because they will just swim back to where the easy food was. Google it Type in Cascade LOCKS Seattle and read how much of a pest they are.

Fantastic IDEA LloydBest1, Sea Lion steaks, jerkey, dog food and dog treats, stew meat and I BET YOU CAN MAKE BIO DIESEL OUT OF SEA LION FAT. A whold new industry can be started. KILL THE DAM SEA LIONS IN THE RIVER DO YOUR JOB OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILD LIFE AND Sharon Young you IDIOTS. Protect the Salmon and shoot these varmets by Bonneville Dam and by the falls in OREGON CITY. I am glad somebody shot these Sea Lions the deserve the 5000 dollar reward for doing something that needs to be done.

[acolton1]

Bio Diesel out of Sea Lion Fat how much would a gallon of that cost ? FANTASTIC IDEA.

7 down 500 To GO. Keep up the good work.

[acolton1]

You want to see how jacked up the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is. go to Google and type in "Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife snowball the deer" and read what a bang up job they did last year. EVERBODY AT THE Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife need to be fired and do some house cleaning for the Snowball ISSUE. It made everbody in Oregon Mad as hell at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. DO YOUR JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON AND SHOOT THE RIVER VARMETS.

[acolton1]

Here is the link then click on VIEW RESULTS

http://www.kgw.com/perl/common/surveys/display_full.pl?poll_id=18248&site=kgw&vaction=voting&thissite=kgw

[debrasimons]

all of you who advocate slaughtering of everything under the sun are so absolutely mindless as to be unreachable with anything such as compassion for other species than your own selfish, uselss existence.It is people who are ruining the Earth not sea lions and elephants...Debra Simons, Asheville,NC

[acolton1]

I grew up in Oregon and Sea Lions Belong in the SEA or OCEAN and once they swim 100 miles up river to Bonneville Dam they are no longer SEA LIONS and should loose their protected status. Sharon Young you are an IDIOT, IDIOT, IDIOT DO YOUR JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON. Whats wrong with Sea Lions Steaks, smoked jerkey and Sea Lion Meat Treats for the Dog. Sharon Young you are not qualified to have your job because you are not protecting the Salmon your a frackin Looser.

Shoot all Sea Lions in the Columbia River and Willamette River by Oregon City and the Falls. All Sea Lions by Bonneville Dam need to be shot and killed on asap.

[acolton1]

Debra Simons, Asheville,NC

I grew up in OREGON and I do not want to kill everthing under the sun. Google "Cascade Locks Sea Lions" and read about that. It might change your mind. Sea Lions have been proteted for over 30 years and there population is has exploded. If you go over to the Oregon, Washington coast you can count thousands and thousands of them out on the rocks. The Sea Lion population needs to be controled just like the deer population.

[acolton1]

Debra Simons, Asheville,NC

Or Google "Bonneville Dam Sea Lion Problem" and read about that.

[acolton1]

The Humane Society of the United States, Sharon Young and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are all IDIOTS.

DO YOUR JOB AND PROTECT THE SALMON. IF YOU CANT DO YOUR JOB THEN FRACKIN QUIT AND THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF OREGONIANS WHO WOULD LOVE TO GET RIDE OF THESE RIVER VARMETS.