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Stop Sea Lion Killing Plan

Target: National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources
Sponsored by: Care2
The National Marine Fisheries Service recently authorized the killing of up to 85 federally protected sea lions this year at the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River in Oregon.

Federal and state officials claim they have to kill sea lions to protect endangered salmon. But sea lions are not the main threat to endangered salmon on the Columbia river - dams, habitat loss and humans are.

Consider the facts:
  • Sea lions kill between 0.4% and 4.2% of salmon and steelhead returning to the Columbia River each year;
  • Federal dams on the Snake River kill over 15% of returning steelhead and salmon adults each year;
  • Oregon and Washington states, which requested permission to kill sea lions, proposed increasing fishing quotas from 9% to 12% of the 2008 salmon run.
A federal judge is set to rule on this plan on May 8th, and until then no sea lions may be killed. Yet six federally protected sea lions were just found shot to death on the Columbia River at Bonneville Dam. Make sure no more sea lions die - tell NMFS to abandon its plan to allow killing of sea lions on the Columbia River!

Learn more from the Humane Society of the United States, Wild Fish Conservancy and Save Our Wild Salmon.
deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 10,000
 
3,684
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To Ms. Donna Darm,
Assistant Regional Administrator,
Protected Resources Division, NMFS

I just learned that six federally protected sea lions were found killed on the Columbia River even though a federal judge issued a stay of execution for sea lions with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I urge you to immediately repeal your agency's approval of a plan to kill up to 85 sea lions this year at Bonneville Dam.

Sea lions are not the primary cause of salmon decline in the Columbia River and Pacific Northwest. In fact, sea lions kill 4.2% or less of returning salmon and steelhead each year. Dams along the Columbia and Snake Rivers kill over 15% of returning adult salmon and steelhead, and the incidental take allowance is currently 9%.
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Sincerely,
[Your name here]
We took action on “Stop Sea Lion Killing Plan”!
# 2,700:
9:48 pm PDT, May 12, Pauline Guest, California
# 2,699:
9:35 pm PDT, May 12, Douglas Callahan, Texas
Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace. Albert Schweitzer
# 2,698:
8:57 pm PDT, May 12, Amanda Jaffray, Canada
# 2,697:
8:38 pm PDT, May 12, Alice Tsai, Maryland
# 2,696:
8:14 pm PDT, May 12, Roxanne Acosta, Florida
# 2,695:
7:54 pm PDT, May 12, Linda Kaehler, Wisconsin
# 2,694:
7:44 pm PDT, May 12, Amelia Zahoor, Florida
# 2,693:
7:42 pm PDT, May 12, Amanda Schmitt, Louisiana
# 2,692:
7:33 pm PDT, May 12, Tammy Frost, Australia
stop this senseless killing. People fish salmon for sport, these sea lions fish for salmon to live. When will we learn, we are ruining everything.
# 2,691:
7:18 pm PDT, May 12, Erika Parker, California
# 2,690:
7:00 pm PDT, May 12, Caroline Fraissinet, New Jersey
# 2,689:
6:55 pm PDT, May 12, Rebeca Oviedo, Costa Rica
# 2,688:
6:27 pm PDT, May 12, Julie Kertesz, Canada
These poor creatures do not deserve to be killed, they should be protected by us!
# 2,687:
6:19 pm PDT, May 12, Name not displayed, Nevada
# 2,686:
6:01 pm PDT, May 12, Michele Benson, Oregon
People are the source of so few salmon..forcing the sea lions to feed outside there normal feeding grounds. They should not be shot to answer for the damage that poeple do.
# 2,685:
5:56 pm PDT, May 12, Bonnie Dawson, Canada
Insead of protecting the revenues earned, protect a life. Each death is an injustice, each life taken cannot be replaced.
# 2,684:
5:45 pm PDT, May 12, Monica Espinosa, Mexico
# 2,683:
5:16 pm PDT, May 12, Amanda Treischel, Minnesota
# 2,682:
5:04 pm PDT, May 12, Sandra Couch, Illinois
# 2,681:
4:49 pm PDT, May 12, Marilyn Gold, Utah
# 2,680:
4:16 pm PDT, May 12, Karen Knowles, Texas
# 2,679:
4:01 pm PDT, May 12, Shealan Mansfield, Canada
# 2,678:
3:28 pm PDT, May 12, Shelby G., California
# 2,677:
2:32 pm PDT, May 12, Chris Lepretre, France
Sea lions have to eat to live, like human beings do.
# 2,676:
2:02 pm PDT, May 12, Cynthia Marugg, California
# 2,675:
2:01 pm PDT, May 12, John Nulty, California
# 2,674:
1:55 pm PDT, May 12, Alison Hartle, Hawaii
# 2,673:
1:51 pm PDT, May 12, Julie Larsen, California
# 2,672:
1:24 pm PDT, May 12, Melissa JMZ Huey, Oregon
# 2,671:
1:05 pm PDT, May 12, Tina Dawson, North Carolina
# 2,670:
12:44 pm PDT, May 12, Maxine Holloway, United Kingdom
# 2,669:
12:13 pm PDT, May 12, Grace O'connor, Michigan
# 2,668:
12:03 pm PDT, May 12, Lorraine Thompson, New York
# 2,667:
11:47 am PDT, May 12, Tierschuetzern Katerini, Greece
# 2,666:
11:42 am PDT, May 12, James Hibbard, Massachusetts
# 2,665:
11:33 am PDT, May 12, Maya Evans, United Kingdom
please dont kill them you might want to protect salmon but dont go around and kill loads of them
# 2,664:
11:20 am PDT, May 12, Kenny Hogg, United Kingdom
# 2,663:
11:20 am PDT, May 12, Sara Zagoren, Illinois
# 2,662:
11:19 am PDT, May 12, Name not displayed, Oregon
# 2,661:
11:12 am PDT, May 12, Sheree Aramini, New Jersey
this is cruel!
# 2,660:
11:12 am PDT, May 12, Kaitlyn Whitten, Oregon
Because killing them is wrong when we are to blame for the salmon shortage, we continue to eat them even knwing we will lose them. The Sea Lions are just following their food source, is this wrong?
# 2,659:
11:10 am PDT, May 12, Name not displayed, Oregon
# 2,658:
10:56 am PDT, May 12, Kristin Pasko, Massachusetts
# 2,657:
10:47 am PDT, May 12, Laetitia Panetier, France
# 2,656:
10:45 am PDT, May 12, Kim Szabo, Florida
we need to stop messing with the food chain. it works if we leave it alone. take one thing out you hurt something else. God made it that way for a reason.
# 2,655:
10:43 am PDT, May 12, Brittany Schweim, Michigan
If theres a law to not kill any more sea lions then why were there a few found with bullet shots in them. It doesn't mean much to pass a law saying not to kill a certain animal if your not going to inforce it. Next time lets hope its a self centered animal killer washed up on a shore.
# 2,654:
10:41 am PDT, May 12, Joseph Langford, Maryland
# 2,653:
10:28 am PDT, May 12, Sharon Buazard, Illinois
# 2,652:
10:21 am PDT, May 12, Chetna Pittea, United Kingdom
# 2,651:
9:59 am PDT, May 12, Shannon McKenna, California
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