Lawsuit Demands San Diego Clean Up Sea Lion Poop

San Diego's La Jolla neighborhood is a great place to watch sea lions bask in the sun while birds circle overhead. You might even run into Mitt Romney. But there's also a not-so-pleasant scent wafting through the air thanks to all the sea lion and bird poop at La Jolla Cove—and now the city is being sued over it. Citizens For Odor Nuisance Abatement (a group formed this month to do what its name states) has filed a suit with the San Diego Supreme Court asking the city to remove the excrement, which emits a "foul, noxious and sickening" odor, reports Courthouse News.

The suit claims the city is at fault because "at some point in time and without public notice, [it] erected a fence along the sidewalk that runs along La Jolla Cove, preventing the public from accessing the rocks ... [which] gradually led to a buildup of excrement." The group isn't seeking compensation, only "the city's attention—with backing from the court—to once and for all deal with this issue in a dedicated, thorough, and sustained manner," the owner of a restaurant that is part of the group told the San Diego Union-Tribune. A rep for the interim mayor says the city is aware of the issue and is "actively working toward a solution," then added this odd tidbit: The sea lion smell is apparently especially pungent right now because of all the anchovies they've been eating. (More La Jolla stories.)