A new law in the US will allow people to kill sea lions in some parts of the country.
The law was introduced as a measure to help stop the animals devouring the region’s endangered salmon and steelhead populations.
The law, passed by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump last month, lifts protections on California sea lions in the Columbia River, the Willamette River and its tributaries.
Government authorities in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho already had authorisation to kill a limited number of threatening sea lions, according to according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"Many salmon and steelhead populations in the Northwest are threatened and endangered, and the last few years have been particularly hard as ocean conditions have turned and fewer salmon have returned to the rivers," NOAA spokesman Michael Milstein told CNN.
"That leaves fewer fishing opportunities and fewer salmon to feed other predators such as sea lions and killer whales."
But, not just anyone can go out hunting the animals. They must be killed humanely and a permit must be held.
The policy can also be suspended in five years if the salmon and steelhead populations begin to recover.
