Judge orders removal of seals from Children's Pool

Judge orders removal of seals from Children's Pool - July 20, 2009 article from San Diego Union-Tribune

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As an animal lover, vegetarian, and a visitor to the La Jolla cove, I am saddened to learn that the city has been ordered to chase the seals from their home.

How will this be done? Reporter Craig Gustafson writes:

"The city's dispersal plan – formulated with the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – calls for the use of barking dog noises from 6 a.m. to sunset each day, possibly for years."

Something tells me this method will drive away more than just the seals (With any luck, it will also chase away the anti-seal residents in shame because of the unnecessary racket they have caused!).

This has been a dispute for years. In a July 31, 2006 New York Times article, the individual responsible for the lawsuit presents her argument:

“It was kind of a family beach,” said Valerie O’Sullivan, an avid swimmer who filed a lawsuit against the city in 2004 to restore the beach for human use. “This isn’t the only place for the seals. There are plenty of seals up and down the coast.”

But can't that be said for human-friendly beaches in La Jolla as well? I've been to them. The problem is that this beach had been designated in 1931 by Ellen Browning Scripps as the Children's Pool. Having visited this cove, I can imagine it being a pleasant place for families, but La Jolla and its neighboring beach towns do not lack many more lovely beaches.

It angers me that people believe that humans are entitled to use of this beach that the seals call home, and that they are wasting the time, energy, and money of the city to clear a beach that is only big enough to accommodate a few families at a time anyway. I bet if you asked any child if they mind going swimming elsewhere because the seals have made their home there, they would say: "Of course not". There has been a crowd assembled admiring the seals every time I have visited. They should be embraced by La Jolla residents as an asset, not as a nuisance.