In Defense of Animals In Oregon Appellate Court Today To Free Sea Lion “Willy”

IDA to argue that Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) captured “Willy”below the Bonneville Dam without proper authority

Salem Ore. (September 2, 2010) – A California sea lion held captive in Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas is unaware that his fate will be decided today in court. In Defense of Animals (IDA), an international animal protection organization, will represent Willy at a 1:30 p.m. hearing today in the Oregon Supreme Court Courtroom, 1163 State Street, Salem, Oregon 97301. This pinniped, known to animal advocates as Willy but dubbed “C657” by state wildlife agencies who branded him with the same moniker, is a plaintiff in a suit brought by IDA. Willy was mistakenly identified in the state’s lethal removal program, where sea lions are being trapped and killed for eating salmon below the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.

“This is a clear case of mistaken identity. Willy should never have been removed and we are using the state’s own records to prove it,” said IDA’s Northwest Director, Matt Rossell. “This is just one more government blunder in long list of missteps in a misguided program that scapegoats native sea lions and condemns them to death for simply eating. Killing sea lions is not going to resolve the real issues facing salmon recovery – over-fishing, dams, introduction of non-native fish, and habitat destruction.”

California sea lions are native to this bioregion and are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). However, the Oregon, Washington and Idaho state wildlife agencies are trapping and killing sea lions in a “lethal removal” program under the authority of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, killing sea lions that meet specific criteria under Section 120 of the MMPA if determined these individually identifiable animals are making a “significant impact” to salmon populations. This killing program is in its third year. Animal advocates await a decision by the Ninth Circuit Federal Court about whether the states have proven the sea lions, who have been observed eating only between .02 and 4% of the Spring Chinook run below the dam annually, in fact have met the requirements of this exception to the MMPA.

Willy, or “C657,” was trapped and removed from the Columbia River on April 1, 2009 in a lethal removal program being carried out by Oregon, Washington and Idaho state wildlife agencies. When IDA saw that he was not on the Letter of Authority to be lethally removed, they filed suit on his behalf. Among the evidence IDA submitted to the court are copies of government sea lion monitoring records that prove Willy’s innocence.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Matt Rossell, IDA, 503-890-5151