Felons of the Sea
Posted by Jon Sherman
"They have no businessmoving so far south.
Federal law forbids it!"No one, I suppose,
has tried to teach them that law,
lobbied into existenceby the fishing industry in 1986.
So they are now felons,
illegally calling this place home.From Mexico to Point Conception,
banned, even though endangered.
Even though, as a Southern Sea Otter,
they evolved here.
Even though there’s little reasonto move back from their safe, legal reservation a little further north.
Half may die here of disease.
This is Southern California.
Worms, passed by sand crabs, will shred their innards.
A parasite from cat feces, washed to the ocean from the suburbs,
will destroy their brains.
Some will die when arrested and made to float a trail of tearsback to their prison. It’s the same old story.So why do they even bother?
Is it just ignorance of the word?
Or are laws, and the words that empower them, only for people who have lost their way.
These Otter peoplehave found their way home.
With an inner guidance system known as freedom.
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