Humane Society gets partial victory in fight to save sea lions

PORTLAND -- A federal appeals court Wednesday gave the Humane Society of the United States a partial victory in the dispute over the fate of California sea lions in the Columbia River, allowing some to be trapped but none to be killed this spring.

The Humane Society filed a request for an emergency injunction last week to contest federal authorization for Oregon and Washington to trap or kill up to 85 sea lions a year for five years because of the amount of salmon they eat at the base of Bonneville Dam.

Last week the Humane Society lost a bid for a preliminary injunction.

In denying the request, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman said the Humane Society had not shown there would be irreparable harm if it were denied.

Wednesday, a three-judge federal appeals court panel in San Francisco said "... the lethal taking of California sea lions is, by definition, irreparable. This logic also applies to the salmon consumed by the sea lions."