Seal barrier back at La Jolla cove

Mayor Jerry Sanders ordered the reinstallation of a rope barrier at the Children’s Pool in La Jolla after a federal appeals court granted animal rights’ activists a victory in their battle to protect harbor seals during pupping season.

Lower courts, ruling in favor of public access to the small cove, had barred the city from using barriers to keep sightseers away. The beach has become a scene of regular confrontations between seal lovers and public-access groups that sometimes disturb the colony that comes ashore to rest and give birth.

Last week two pups were abandoned and taken for treatment to SeaWorld after sightseers caused the seals to disperse. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in granting an emergency motion, ruled that the rope could be installed through the end of pupping season in May while the issue was debated further in court.