Visit Oregon to see them capturing and killing sea lions

People like sea lions. But they must like salmon more. And because sea lions feast on threatened salmon in Oregon, they were given a death sentence on Tuesday.

Traps, pyrotechnics and beanbags shot at sea lions have failed to deter the annual springtime feast of threatened salmon at a Columbia River Dam, so federal authorities ordered some of them to be “removed,” according to AP.

The National Marine Fisheries Service authorized Oregon and Washington officials to first attempt to catch the sea lions that arrive at the base of the Bonneville Dam and hold them 48 hours to see whether an aquarium, zoo or similar facility will take them. Otherwise, they could be euthanized, along with those that avoid trapping.

I realize that the sea lion population has soared. They numbered about 1,000 in the 1930s, when they were hunted and used, among other purposes, for dog food. They are thought to number about 240,000 today. But still, they seem way too cute to be killed.