SAN DIEGO -- An animal rights group has lost its appeal to force San Diego to install a rope barrier around the seals at Children's Pool in La Jolla during pupping season, it was reported Wednesday.

The Animal Protection and Rescue League had asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to force the issue under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.

But the court ruled Tuesday that the act does not override a 2005 court order that requires the city to take down the rope and reduce bacteria levels so the cove can be used as a swimming area again, the newspaper reported.

The fight over the Children's Pool and the seals who flock there has been going on for years.

The coastal pool was donated to the city specifically so it could be used by children, but since then seals have frequented the area in droves, causing some animal rights activists to argue that the seals should be protected from human encroachment.