America's marine mammals are under attack from both sides of the aisle, and if Congress doesn't act, some of these species may not survive the politics.

In March 2026, a federal committee known as the "God Squad" voted unanimously to strip the last Endangered Species Act protections from Rice's whale, clearing the way for oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists estimate as few as 50 Rice's whales remain alive. They have lived in the Gulf of Mexico for approximately 3 million years, longer than humans have existed as a species. One bad oil spill, like the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed an estimated 22 percent of the population, could end them entirely. With no ability to survive in captivity, there is no safety net. Once they are gone, they are gone forever.

At the same time, Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat from Washington state, has written to the Secretary of Commerce urging the federal government to allow the lethal removal of sea lions from the Columbia River, citing their consumption of salmon. Missing from that argument: it is human-built hydroelectric dams, overfishing, and climate change that have driven salmon populations down, not sea lions, which have shared these waters with salmon for millions of years without driving them to crisis.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy has operated a marine mammal program since 1959, training bottlenose dolphins to locate underwater mines. Reports from trainers who have worked within the program describe dolphins being fitted with muzzles that prevent them from eating or hydrating unless they complete assigned tasks, and being deployed into active conflict zones where they can be killed.

These are three separate issues with one common thread: marine mammals treated as expendable whenever they become inconvenient to human economic or military goals. The Marine Mammal Protection Act has existed since 1972, but it was never designed to withstand the kind of sustained political pressure these animals are now facing.

We are calling on Congress to pass updated, strengthened federal protections for all marine mammals, protections that cannot be dismantled overnight by a presidential appointment, carved out through industry lobbying, or bypassed in the name of national security. These animals have no vote, no lobby, and no seat at the table. They need Congress to act before the window closes.