WASHINGTON – The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection organization, filed suit today against the Mayor and City Council of San Diego to immediately stop the harassment and injury of harbor seals at a small section of San Diego's beachfront.

The non-profit organization filed the case in the Superior Court of California, County of San Diego. It challenges the city's September 2004 decision to remove a guideline rope and advisory signs, resulting in physical injury and near constant harassment of seals at Casa Beach in violation of both state and federal law.

The rope-line and advisory signs had kept beachgoers at a safe distance from the seals, allowing them to thrive and turning Casa Beach into a major tourist destination. Soon after the City Council ordered the removal of the ropes and advisory signs, people began approaching the seals very closely, frightening the animals, crowding them off of the beach, and chasing the animals.

This near constant harassment has reportedly resulted in injuries to a number of animals. Additionally, a number of seals have given birth prematurely to pups who did not survive.

The city's actions could not have come at a more damaging time for the 90 to 200 seals who inhabit this unique location and rely on the beach for breeding and pup-bearing between February and May.

The HSUS is seeking to have the protective barriers replaced immediately to prevent further harassment and injury of the seals. The seals are protected by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act and the California Fish and Game Code.

Harbor seals are one of six species of pinnipeds that may be seen in the waters of California. They generally give birth to a single pup, who is born on land in a rookery in which the mother herself may have been born. Nourished by their mother's calorie-rich milk they can double their birth weight in the four to six weeks that they nurse.

"City leaders in San Diego have turned gold into lead – treating a rare gathering of seals in an urban setting as nothing but a group of interlopers who need to be driven from a small beach," said Wayne Pacelle, HSUS president and CEO. "There is simply no reason for this stubborn refusal to provide minimal protections for these seals and to comply with the law."

Pacelle visited San Diego earlier this month and visited the beach. He spoke out against the city's failure to protect the seals and pleaded for the city to take action to obviate the need for legal action.

"The San Diego City Council's decision to remove the rope-line and advisory signs was made in blatant disregard for federal and state laws protecting marine mammals," said Jonathan Lovvorn, HSUS vice president of animal protection litigation. "At a bare minimum the city must restore the advisory signs and rope-line long enough to protect seal pups and their mothers during the critical pupping season."

The HSUS has more than 8.5 million members and constituents. The non-profit organization is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals and equine protection, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, animals in research and farm animals and sustainable agriculture. The HSUS protects all animals through legislation, litigation, investigation, education, advocacy and fieldwork. The group is based in Washington and has numerous field representatives across the country.