Marine mammals encroach on people

capecodtimes -The solution, experts say, is elusive because of the seals’ protection under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act and the lack of funds for research. And, scientists and environmentalists caution that culling or using tactics that drive animals away from public areas are unlikely to get approval or be effective… The Cape’s gray seal population is now growing at a rate as high as 30 to 50 percent a year,,,,On Canada’s 21-square-mile Sable Island, the growth rate among the more than 200,000 gray seals recently slowed from 13 percent per year to 7 percent. ‘WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?’  “There is no regulatory mechanism for it,” said Michael Jasny, a senior policy analyst with the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy organization. “It would be unprecedented within the Marine Mammal Protection Act.” “There would be a national outcry,” he predicted. continued

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