San Diego ? The seals can stay and play at La Jolla swimming cove.

A judge ruled Friday that harbor seals that have colonized the cove in La Jolla for more than a decade can remain there. That overruled an earlier decision to have the city remove the seals because their waste bacteria was dangerous for humans.

San Diego County Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor ruled that a state law signed by the governor in July will allow the cove to be designated as a marine park starting Jan. 1, and that there is no reason to evict the animals before then. The move finalized a tentative ruling Taylor made Thursday.

Seals began moving into the cove in the 1990s, setting off a long legal scrap between advocates for animals and kids.