Oral arguments were heard today in the continuing saga over the fate of the sea lions of the Columbia. Here is a quick recap. (For those not familiar with the roots of this story, I refer you to other articles that I and others have written in the past. You can do a search of this site by using the search function on the top right of the screen.)
To many of us who were present in the courtroom last spring, when Judge Mosman inexplicably ruled that killing sea lions would not cause irrevocable harm, it has been clear that this would be an uphill battle in this particular courtroom. (Thank God for the appeals process. The 9th circuit court of appeals almost immediately overturned that decision, stating that, by definition, killing a living being would, in fact, cause irrevocable harm. They granted the injunction that Mosman had refused to grant, against killing any sea lions while the merits of the case were being decided. Those who remember the grisly deaths in the traps last spring realize the injunction did not protect the sea lions anyway.)
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