Target: Martha Williams, Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Goal: Stop senselessly killing sea lions.
In a misguided attempt to save salmon and steelhead trout from extinction, the U.S. has approved a new regulation allowing the slaughter of over 700 sea lions in the Columbia River basin—including the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. While the use of firearms will be prohibited, other brutal tools—including poles, gaffs, and squeeze traps—will be needed to isolate, restrain, and kill the sea lions.
While this regulation was passed in the name of “conserving” salmon and trout, in reality, sea lions actually have very little to do with the dwindling salmon populations. Sea lions, unlike humans, rely on these and other fish to survive and act as natural population regulators, ensuring fish populations don’t grow out of hand. The root of these species’ endangerments is actually human activity—human caused pollution, habitat loss, overfishing, and climate change.
Sign this petition to demand the U.S. stop this useless program and instead, change our own behaviors to help conserve salmon and trout populations.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Director Williams,
Recent plans to save salmon and steelhead trout from extinction are misguided and, quite frankly, totally useless. In encouraging the mass slaughter of sea lions, we are failing to tackle the real problem threatening these endangered fish. While sea lions do, in fact, rely on consuming salmon and trout to survive, this consumption is an entirely natural process which seeks to regulate fish populations so that they don’t get out of control. Human consumption of these fish, however, is another thing altogether. Each year, humans kill an estimated 2 trillion fish for food—not counting the billions of fish that die as a result of human-caused pollution, climate change, and habitat loss.
The overexploitation of salmon and trout is our fault entirely, and slaughtering innocent sea lions is not the solution to our problems. We are asking you, Ms. Williams, to stop the cruel, unnecessary killing of sea lions and, instead, conserve salmon by adapting our own habits.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: KenWalker
Leave these sea lions alone what have they done to you. What have they done you ask us that
Poor sea lions. This is heartbreaking.
I agree completely…cruel and inhimane and makes zero sense. Dimb politicians never work with conservationists!!
Was Martha dropped on her head at birth? Is that the reason she’s such a moron?
Sea lions are so cute, we need to save them!
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NO animal wants to die, if you’re not vegan, don’t pretend that saving sea lions is meaningful, humans aren’t concerned with saving fish from extinction, they’re concerned with killing fish for profit. The “animal agriculture” industry kills millions of native animals yearly in just the USA – to “protect” animals exploited for food, who will die anyway – and animals are already extinct also from animal agriculture from ecosystem collapse due to crops grown to feed “food animals”.
How about, rather than ask humans to not kill sea lions, you take responsibility for your actions and demand that animals be saved by practicing least harm. (And yeah, crop casualties are required from nonvegan crop harvesters.)
Least harm > maximum harm
Agreed!! Well said.
Sea lions have no other choice but to eat fish to stay alive. Humans on the other have thousands of options but they want it all so they kill sea lions because they’re just too greedy! Stop killing these animals who are only trying to live!
HUMANS ARE THE CAUSE OF OUR WORLDS DESTRUCTION!!!
So the U.S. approves the slaughter of Sea Lions to save the fish. What a disgrace. Wildlife murderers.
AND YET THEY HAVE THE NERVE TO CLAIM TO BE THE MOST CIVILIZED COUNTRY OF THE WORLD …
Human greed and stupidity are killing the fish!!!
Save the sea lions!!!!
We aren’t making the climate change. It’s natural.
Yeah – it’s natural, over thousands of years.
But humans have sped up the change to the point where the planet can’t adapt fast enough. We have done thousands of years of destructive change in literally 50 years, with our excessive population, fossil fuel use and carbon emissions, and over harvesting of pretty much everything.
If you can’t be bothered educating yourself so you don’t sound like a fucking moron every time you post – WHICH YOU DO – then DON’T POST.
Humans are the worst life form on the planet. We have caused total destruction over centuries. We are greedy, immoral, cruel, corrupt. We will just except that this is a natural process shall we?
Good idea, we can sit our sorry arse down and watch this beautiful planet disintegrate, slow and sure. Because it natural!!
Just look at NASA’s CO2 graph compared to the graph showing human population growth. It is very clear the earth is warming and humans are to blame. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change, deforestation, species extinction, water pollution, water depletion, ocean dead zones, world hunger, and pandemics.
What another lame excuse to torture an innocent being! Sea lions are not the reason for the decline of the fish populations….MAN IS!
…as well they have every right to survive.
The brutal methods used to MURDER these sea lions is ANIMAL CRUELTY TO THE EXTREME. Make this torture illegal and punishable by law! There is no reason to torture any living creature!!! EVER!
We need to stop trying to control nature; killing one animal off to save another. It will take care of itself if we just leave it alone.
We have been given dominion over the animal kingdom, not to choose to kill, torture or harm in any way. These beautiful sea lions ask for nothing but to be allowed to live naturally and safely in their own environment. Words don’t describe the abject cruelty humans can sink to.
STOP SLAUGHTERING ALL SEA LIONS IMMEDIATELY A!!!!!
Humans are destroying our entire world. STOP THE INSANITY AND STOP THE KILLING OF THE INNOCENT NOW!
why SLAUGHTERING THESE POOR SOULS TO COMPENSATE FOR HUMAN GLUTTONESS…PEOPLE ARE EATING THE WORLD CLEAN.
This ruling doesn’t make sense. This is a knee-jerk reaction to a situation and no common sense was used to come up with any working solutions. They are only focusing on the obvious and not looking deeper into the problem and coming up with novel ideas. And.. the methods allowed for killing are plain evil…. “including poles, gaffs, and squeeze traps..” WTF?? 🙁
GO VEGAN and this animal-hell, environmental crime and destruction will soon END. As long as profit is involved, animal welfare always takes a back seat! As long as you eat animal products, this LEGALISED CRIME will continue.
YOU are a hypocritical monster!!
Vegan lifestyle is the most ethical lifestyle on Earth because it’s totally cruelty-free. It’s also healthy, delicious and environmentally-friendly.
Vegan foods are available in ALL food-stores. Just open your mind, ditch animal-based foods and GO 100% VEGAN! You will never look back to your carnivore past!
ABSOLUTELY!!!! I GO LIVE ON TIKTOK EVERY DAY TRYING TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO GO VEGAN AND LETTING THEM KNOW THAT THEY ARE NOT JUST RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COWS, PIGS, CHICKENS AND FISH BIENG INTENTIONALLY KILLED BUT THEY ARE ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR WILD ANIMALS BEING INTENTIONAL KILLED.
LEAVE THESEB SEA LIONS ALONE!!!!!~!
STOP THE KILLING NOW!!!!!!!!
Bring on human extinction and let the planet recover.
Agree all comments all a bunch of cruel cunts needs to stop now. What’s wrong with laws and people.
I think we need to start killing off some of those who make the rules to kill animals because of human faults.Those people should be made extinct. Animals food supply and housing are becoming scarce because of greedy humans.
THESE SEA LIONS ARE BEING KILLED SO THAT HUMANS CAN PROFIT OFF OF SELLING THE SALMON AND THE TROUT. WE DO NOT NEED TO EAT FISH TO SURVIVE – THE SEA LION DO. BAN HUMANS FROM FISHING. SO KILLING THE INNOCENT ANIMALS WHOSE SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON EATING THESE FISH THAT ARE ONLY BEING “PROTECTED” SO THAT HUMANS CAN KILL THEM INSTEAD.
YOU MUST GO VEGAN OR YOU ARE THE REASON WHY NOT ONLY COWS AND PIGS AND CHICKENS AND FISH ARE INTENTIONALLY KILLED BUT YOU ARE ALSO THE REASON WHY SEA LIONS, WILD AMERICAN HORSES, WOLVES, FOXES, AND MANY OTHER WILD ANIMALS ARE BEING INTENTIONALLY KILLED.