I have no insight into the economic or natural world whatsoever but i do believe that baby seals are cute and feel pain, and andecdotes of seal clubbing makes me feel bad inside. I need to cheer myself up and go buy some new clothes [made by starving and abused childen in malaysia!]!
-a seal clubbing protester
Yes, people, there are much worse things in the world than seal clubbing. Like global warming, remember that? Or the fact that 1 billion people in the world are starving, and surely more people in Africa are being clubed to death than seals in Newfoundland. Stop wasting your time and energy protesting something that is really unimportant, and protest something that needs it! Grow up people. animals get killed for money. this will never change.
CanadianScientificResearch - 15 years ago
IF YOU *EVER* see ANYONE attempt to post that the seal hunt is to help the cod or fish that individual just posted falsified information.
"The commercial seal quota is ... not an attempt to assist in the recovery of groundfish stocks" said the DFO.
If any pro-sealer ever attempts to post that the seals are killed because of the fish, then that pro-sealer just violated and went AGAINST the DFO, which is the very agency that runs and operates the entire Canadian seal hunt which that person is attempting to stick up for. So in effect, that pro-sealer just went against his own hunt authorities and against his own country.
This argument is proven false. The DFO has told sealers to STOP saying it. And the 'seals ate the cod' line is debunked and cannot be used. If you see anyone trying to use that, take note of them, and that person can heretofore be considered untrustworthy, not knowlegeable on the hunt, and unreliable.
Senior DFO scientist, Jake Rice, has cautioned against planning predator culls as “ecosystem objectives”.
Even the DFO says the seal hunt is NOT done as a cull, the seal hunt is NOT conducted 'in order to manage the seal population', and it is NOT to "help the cod." Because scienctists, including Canada's own scientists, and DFO scientists have disproven this emotional old-wives-tale gossip from pro-sealers.
EVEN other sealers are telling these cheerleaders for the seal hunt to STOP posting the cod thing:
"No one blames seals for the collapse of the fish stocks," says Tina Fagan of the Canadian Sealers' Association.
Mind you, that's not animal helpers there, that's not activists saying that, that is the actual seal Killers telling these people such as this 'divid' and 'Shawn' up at the top, and any seal hunt cronies to STOP posting that 'but seals eat all the fish' junk! Because everyone knowledgeable about the seals and the fish have now concluded that line is FALSE!
Canadian Scientists: "DFO's own survey data show no parallel increase in cod deaths in the age group eaten by seals." -Biological Sciences division Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, atlantic canada.
Ok. Nova Scotia is a Sealing province! That information right there telling people that seals DO NOT reduce the cod, is not only coming from Canadians themselves, that's coming right out of a Sealing Province that engages in the hunt! And not only that, that's coming straight from the Dept of Fisheries, the agency charged with approving and encouraging the hunt! And telling people NO, the data show that seals ARE NOT reducing the cod.
"All scientific efforts to find an effect of seal predation on fish stocks have failed to show any impact.
Overfishing [by Fishermen themselves] remains the only scientifically demonstrated conservation problem related to fish stock collapse."
-Consensus of 97 scientists of 15 world countries at the 11th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals.
This same deal goes for anyone attempting to allege that the seal hunt is meant to 'manage the seal population' or 'control the seal population' or falsely attempts to assert that humans 'need to reduce the seal population' or attemts to post 'seals are 5.5 million and are greater than humans' or the falsified post 'seal population is exploding' or the concocted 'seal population has tripled' or 'the seal hunt is done to keep the seal population in check' garbage. This has all been debunked and shown to be falsified.
THIS is the actual information:
"We could not determine any rationale to limit the size of the population." -Asst Deputy Minister of the DFO.
So if you ever see anyone attempt to post that, whatever they typed has been concocted, debunked, and deemed junk by the very operators of the hunt itself & that persons entire post can be thrown out. Whatever else that pro-seal-hunt person said is also now called into question, because if they lack knowledge about that, then everything else they posted is questionabl
Raquel Gutièrrez Lorieto - 16 years ago
I can't believe that in 2009 mankind is still so brutal and cruel. People who kill inocent animals should be punished with jail. May be, some day, it will happen.
gbellini - 16 years ago
stop a la cruaute sous toutes ses formes
Bonnie - 16 years ago
BobbyB, I'd actually laugh hysterically at your comment, if it weren't for the horrific result of ignorance and sheer cruelty that you're perpetuating. You question the ethics of those who oppose this hunt, by asking whether the same level of compassion is then felt for all animals. If you and many others weren't so blind and ignorant, you'd notice the long struggle to end cruelty - to all animals. As for vegetables, sorry to be the first to point this out, but they do not posses a central nervous system; responsible for feeling pain. Do your research, use your brain, and have a heart.
"Si rien ne se lit, si rien ne se voit, comment savoir ?"
BobbyB - 16 years ago
I wonder if everyone against the killing of baby seals feels the same way about the slaughter of other animals like "milk fed veal" or is this just the cause celebre for them?
And just wait, these same sensitive souls will realize in the not to distant future that fruits and vegetables (like all other living things) also have feelings! Hah, just think about it when cabbage heads are harvested "off with their heads" and protestors start yelling at farmers!
People who are focused on the details of how humans harvest their food are the same ones that slow down and gawk at fatal traffic accidents!
If you don't like it don't buy it, don't eat it, don't look at it, don't write about it, and leave others that don't have a problem with it in peace so they can enjoy the, what are they called, "fruits of our labours"!
Ths culling of seals goes on regardless, people have been protesting for decades.
The places to aim at are the retailers who sell the skins of these beautiful creatures !
Shame on Canada and all those associated with the killing !
Faeya - 16 years ago
(should have gone through the comments first) Thank you Michelle DeWilde and "IKV" for your very informative comments. Always nice to see people actually Supporting their arguments with hard evidence. For those who support their opinions with bad rhetoric:
Animals hunt for sustenance. We began by hunting for the same thing: food. Hunting for reasons other than that, is nothing more than KILLING. Killing seals who do not even contribute significantly to the reduction in fish numbers, and who keep numbers of Other predators that DO eat the fish we want, is nothing short of Justified Murder. What NEEDS to be addressed, is the sustainability of our Fisheries, as Human Overfishing, and harmful fishing methods (bycatch and serious habitat damage are common consequences of certain methods) are the underlying cause of the Massive decline in most ocean fish populations! For More Info on fishing methods: http://www.mcbi.org/what/shiftinggears.htm; For more info on the seal hunt: http://www.harpseals.org/about_the_hunt/index.html (read THAT and tell me its a humane slaughter and Really all about fisheries) http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=four-seal-species-in-danger-of-slip-2009-03-25
Faeya - 16 years ago
I understand that the seals are numerous and consuming large amounts of fish. I understand that the hunt keeps the food web in balance. But honestly, the atrocious state of the ocean's food webs have less to do with seals, and more to do with HUMAN OVERFISHING.
The Japanese and Chinese are working very hard to make major species extinct; The Bluefin Tuna's population has been driven down to 1/10th it was 10 years ago mainly due to Japanese demand, and the Chinese demand for Shark fin (of any species) is soon going to remove that top predator from the oceans ecosystems. Both animals have long life-cycles, and cannot hope to rebuild their numbers with continued fishing.
Does this mean we should hunt down Japanese and Chinese fishermen and kill them too?
Killing off members of one species in order to save enough of another species for US to eat... A logically flawed argument at best, and the result of much too-anthropocentric (human-centric) thinking.
Kris - 16 years ago
lkv, I absolutely agree with you, and Aude - humans are as far away from "animals" as domestic house cats are to the lions in Africa. You show me one hunter who tracks his prey, chases is down, kills it with his bare hands and eats is raw, there on the dirt, surrounded by flies - and dies of starvation if he can't catch it. THAT'S HOW THE ANIMALS DO IT. 99% of Canadians get their meat from the grocery store stuck to a maxi-pad to collect the offensive blood and covered in a shiny plastic wrap. As for the seal slaughter... before anyone has the thought to defend it, go out there on the ice flows and see, smell and hear it for yourself - and see if it's humane!
DAF - 16 years ago
The surprise I feel when I read the submissions is shock (and amazing awe) at the spelling and grammar. What will people think of us for THIS example? Wipes out eh, eh?
Ursula - 16 years ago
How does anybody dare to say that the seal hunt is human???? I would love to see someone getting the same treatment as them and then saying its human!
And talking about the fish population, when we the humans destroy everything the earth gives us!!! We shouldn’t be eating the Fish in first place the “animal kingdom” should be left alone and the cycle should take its place without us constantly interrupting it by ravaging are oceans and land!
It make me laugh when I hear “well we have to control the seal population, so killing them is part of controlling this population” so what I guess we should be saying the same thing about humans .Look at all these countries like china ECT… so what we should kill them too to “control” the population??? Who are we to decide between life and death we are nobody on this planet. We take the right to do things and it’s unfair!
Enough is enough!!
Beef or Chicken? - 16 years ago
We kill cows and chickens and harvest fish by the millions. Why is the seal hunt so bad in comparison? In fact, I think our fishing practices are arguably worse as they are not sustainable. We could conceivably drive some fish to extinction by overfishing. There is no danger (at least in the foreseeable future) of doing that with the seal hunt. Why are people not out protecting, salmon or tuna? (or cows, chickens, pigs, moose.....)
Tuffy - 16 years ago
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Aude - 16 years ago
Ikv, I understand your point of view, but I disagree... First, Man is an animal, so he is actually basically not better than a lion; secondly, I find your reasoning too "easy"... If you exist it's because Man began hunting (hervesters disappeared), and what could you say about people who live just because of hunt, maybe not in our "civilisized" countries, but in those where you not have choice (should we forbidden seal hunt to Inuits? What about some tribes in Africa or elsewhere? What about fishing? And studies proove that plants communicate, so we kill tomatoes and salads...)
Once again, I'm a vegetarian, I'd eat meat the day I could hunt myself (well, never I guess!), I don't use insecticides, I look where I put my feet... But I still think hunt is necessary in some cases for some people. What is true is that some kinds of hunt are a massacre and seal hunt is one of those (I know, I've seen)
I think your ideas are good, but things are complicated.
Colleen - 16 years ago
you call following a brave witness's account of the massacre (let's not call it a hunt - it's a bunch of men bashing infant animals to death as they frantically try to crawl way) at the HSI blog
http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/marine_mammals_news/live_from_the_ice_2009.html
lkv - 16 years ago
Aude, there is no way you can paint hunting humane or not cruel. The very same idea of taking a life because you can (yes because you can, not because of necessity) is cruel by itself. Trying to justify it the way you did, doesn't make it all better. Hunters say to have a respect for the animal, kill them quickly, etc etc. But at the end of the day, do you kill everyone who you respect? Respect for life is what counts, not some thirst for flesh (without which we can obviously survive).
Wes, and because you believe that, it means wiping them by the billions every year. Is that a way of a tyrant or a caring shepherd? I would think the former. The difference is - we can easily survive without killing. But I would disagree, at this point we are nothing more if not worse than a lion out in the wild hunting antelopes, hungry for flesh - the only difference is that we lock ourselves in little boxes and pretend to be evolved hiding behind technology when our understanding and appreciation of the world is about as good as that of a cat.
Aude - 16 years ago
First, sorry for my English, I hope I'll be understandable...
The way they're hunted should be banned, but not the hunt itself (why only seals? You can't just be against seals hunt: rabbits, foxes, mooses, etc. are as cute as a seal, aren't they?...) I love animals and I'm a vegetarian, but I think hunting's not a bad thing - every animals hunt - but I find the way seals are killed too much cruel (why a hook? why not a riffle or something faster?...). There are laws against cruauty against animals, even those which are raised for meat, so I think seals shouldn't be killed this way.
Other point: babies aren't killed anymore. By "babies" I mean little white ones ("blanchons" in French, I don't know in English), but I know that older ones (like teenagers (they're called "brasseurs")) are and sometimes, because they're wounded, they fall into water and because they don't know swimming already, they die drowned which is cruel and unnecessary. Concerning adults, I'm not sure those who are killed aren't parents of babies... I know that when people hunt deer or any other kind of animal, they can't kill a pregnant female or a female with a baby, is it the same for seals? I don't know...
nida - 16 years ago
seals are God creation too, they deserve to live in peace and harmony on earth. there's no reason to kill them, or the worst skinned alive!!!
the man can do this barbaric savages, sooner can do the same to other human being.... Canadian government have to stop this, there's many ways for economic or tradition, no need to slaughter animals, especially this defenseless harmless baby seals. NO MORE HUNT!
Pauline Clark - 16 years ago
Well i am absolutely floored by some of the comments from so called caring human beings, when are they going to learn compasion and caring for all things living. Wearing fur is not a necessity, it is vanity these days. I maybe understand way way back when wearing fur kept humans warm, but today there is no excuse for it, or for the absolute inhumane way they kill these defenceless creatures. Imagine your baby being skinned alive then their skin worn by some pompas aragant person.
I am actually scared of these people.
Those who kill babies with such ease are people I hope I would never ever meet in my lifetime.
Nadine - 16 years ago
Watch this http://video.hsus.org/index.jsp?auto_band=x&rf=sv&fr_story=55e0248a275486840fdeca626eca87685c0a3cfe
Shawn Arney - 16 years ago
I've seen the videos and normally I would question what it was I was seeing. But it was clear as day. This is animal abuse of the first degree. And the men (and women?) carrying it out look very unprofessional. I don't think they could ever make a movie where the hero is one of these, I hesitate to say 'hunters'. As soon as he got out on the ice, people would just walk out of the theatre.
Bad business. Yeah, let 'em go ahead and do it, 'cause I'm not for government regulation and bureaucracy... but it doesn't give a very 'Mounty' impression of our country, that's for sure.
I really don't care, but I saw a post in there I will respond to: I fully believe Humans to be above animals.
Michele - 16 years ago
The commercial seal hunt is NOT humane, and it will contribute to the depletion of the harp seal population if it is allowed to continue. The government's own scientists acknowledge that the "Total Allowable Catch" is higher than what is sustainable. If humans allowed nature to take its course, there would be "normal" fluctuations in the various non-human populations. It is human interference in nature as a whole that has caused millions of species of animals to become extinct. There is simply NO excuse for this horrific "hunt". The sealers do not even earn a decent income from this "job" - just about 5% of their total income is gained from sealing. Write to your government officials and tell them what you think, and support Senator Mac Harb in his efforts to have a ban on this atrocious hunt.
Joanna - 16 years ago
While some of the comments were a bit much Paul, I believe it was only because people are so enraged and saddened right now- and sometimes during such times, they may make pretty bold comments. Clearly, they are exaggerating their feelings towards the culprits of this inhumane, unnecessary tragedy.
It is truly a tragedy. Hopefully one day, people will come together and change what obviously cannot be changed by our shameful government. It seems as though they are taking into account minority interests, at the cost of the majority. Luckily, the only cost to humans will be money, while to some, it will be their lives.
Paul V - 16 years ago
I must have stumbled on to the tolerance and forgiveness page. One commenter above suggested annihilate other cultures, another disparaged our Nfld. brethren and some just foam at the mouth.
Aside from the genocidal tones, I am curious to whether these same folks have an aversion to human abortion. Ya! I didn't think so.
Reichkrusher - 16 years ago
As a Canadian I'm sickened by what my government is allowing. Only heartless, mindless scum can justify what we are doing to these helpless animals. Enough is enough.
troy - 16 years ago
think canada, your tax money is supporting buttf***ing newfies and paying for your fat neighbours hospital bills they incur from their heartattack they get from eating too much meat
Bob - 16 years ago
I'm Canadian and currently, horridly ashamed. I was there taking part in the anti-hunt protests, and saw firsthand some of the attitudes on the subject that people have out there. I would say that the MAJORITY of people DON'T agree with the seal hunt. The problem is, we have a bunch of uninformed, greedy hicks up in parliament who clearly can’t think coherently about anything, from how to run a country to whether it’s even questionable that baby seals should or should not be bludgeoned to death and skinned alive for a wasteful and old-fashioned industry.
Someone commented that the seal hunt, while brutal, was humane. So if your mother, brother, father, or childs head was caved in with a club, and they were left like that to suffer until they died, you'd maintain that treatment is humane? Or is your reply based on a self-bloated misconception that you are somehow superior to these animals?
Ambrose M - 16 years ago
The pro seal "hunt" arguments would be hilarious if it wasn't so brutally sad.
It doesn't matter what the pro seal "hunt" people say anyway. The market for seal skin is disappearing fast and with it will go this massacre.
Sadly it will always remain a dreadful blot on Canada's history.
Antoine Duchastel - 16 years ago
yes seal eat fish. But the reason for the depleting fish "stock" (sic) is not seals. THINK CRITICALLY PEOPLE. Whta is the variable here? HUMANS.
WE are the ones killing all the fish. If we are NEEDED to "cull" (kill) the seals out of a concervationist effort to keep balance to nature, how exactly did the seals and the fish survive before humans arrived?
What many forget when they speak of their "traditionnal" ways is that humans have only been in America for less than 16 thousand years (humans have been around in their current state of evolution for over 3 million years)
so before humans were there to "take care" of nature guess what? the seals, caribou, cod, polar bears, etc, were doing JUST FINE for millions of years.
As for the natives claims, perhaps the Inuit need to be reminded that they are conquerors JUST LIKE THE CONQUISTADORS. They DECIMATED most large species as they crossed the berring straight. They are conquerors and intruders. to the salmon, wolves and bears, humans are Christopher Columbus.
But regardless we are talking about the COMMERCIAL SEAL HUNT and not natives hunting a few seals for their subsistance. Their is nothing sustainable and humane OR NATURAL about the commercial seal hunt.
As for the idiot who showed up Paul Mccartney on Larry King, I respect Paul McCartney but he is a musician, and he is British. I DARE that idiot to try to do the same to Captain Paul Watson or any other informed Canadian.
Guy F. - 16 years ago
For a country that regards itself as one of the most prosperous, progressive and tolerant nations on this planet, the commercial seal hunt is nothing but a shameful anachronism. I have lived on both sides of the Atlantic, and I can tell you, when it comes to the environment and animal welfare, Canada is still years behind EU countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands.
Susan Manns - 16 years ago
The Fur Institute Of Canada are nothing more than a group of THUGS manipulating the minds of our weakest politicians..
Susan Manns - 16 years ago
Seals are meant to eat fish, They are natural predators. Humans are not. Humans should not be eating flesh, Humans choose to have high blood pressure, sugar diabetes, heart conditions , obesity on and on and on. Go ahead boil it fry it roast it. Try and kill all that would make you sick if you ate it raw like carnivores do. I am also sick that not only does my hard earned money go to this barbaric slaughter but that my hard earned money is spent on fixing flesh eaters medical problems caused by eating meat
Nadine - 16 years ago
Not only does this prove that the Canadian government has no respect for life, it clearly shows they're too stupid to realize that this will cause severe damage to Canada's reputation. After all doesn't tourism play a vital part in boosting the economy?
Wake up Canada. If you can't understand compassion - follow someone who does.
lkv - 16 years ago
There seem to be a lot of propaganda out there. Most of it spread by the DFO and the enhanced by people who have no idea what they are talking about.
First of all the fisheries have been drained by the fishermen, seals have nothing to do with this, especially the cod. There are at least three peer reviewed papers clearly showing the evidence that the seals are not responsible for the fisheries, nor will they be responsible even now.
One of the papers (Lawson et. al., published in Marine Mammals Science, 2000 edition) clearly shows the diet of harp seals using stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes derived from muscle tissue and matched to 60 species of prey.
In 1995 at the conference on the Biology of the Marine Mammals in Orlando - NINETY SEVEN (97) scientists signed a petition disagreeing with the findings of the DFO (or Canadian Government), this petition was published in the IMMO.
"As professionals in the field of marine mammal biology we disagree with the Canadian government's statement that North Atlantic seals are a 'conservation problem'. All scientific efforts to find an effect of seal predation on Canadian groundfish stocks have failed to show any impact. Overfishing remains the only scientifically demonstrated conservation problem related to the fish stock collapse. If fishing closures continue, the indicates that the stocks will recover, and killing seals will not speed that process. "
Yet, the last report of the Canadian government, stills blurts the same nonsense. The head of the report is a person who is in the oil industry.. talking about the wrong person on the wrong job.
Second, those pups are babies close to or older than 4 weeks, they can't run they can't swim properly, the proper analogy is comparable to a baby thats just trying to walk. So lets cut the crap, just because they are not white doesn't mean they are not babies.
Third, stop quoting that absolutely appalling veterinary report from the CVJ, one of the researcher is a director of the Fur Institute of Canada, how does that make him objective.
Jennifer K - 16 years ago
I would never visit Canada. Federal animal welfare laws dating back to 1892, some of the cruelest transportation laws in the world for slaughter animals, the seal hunt, just a backwards bunch. Then there are the acts that canadian mining companies engage in in Africa fueling strife and genocide. and you're all so focused on being "nice" that you just turn your backs. Disgraceul nation without honor
Jennifer - 16 years ago
The last time I checked, skinning an animal alive didn't exactly fit the definition of "humane". The biggest threat to our planet and everything on it, including depletion of fish from our waters, is not seals, it is US. But I suppose it's easier to live in denial and put the blame elsewhere, isn't it?
Michelle DeWilde - 16 years ago
The fact that these barbaric acts of cruelty continue puts shame on all Canadians and those involved.
Seals do not "eat all the fish" and are categorically not responsible for the collapse of fish populations or impeding the recovery of various species of fish. There is overwhelming evidence, for instance, that cod stocks collapsed as a direct result of over-fishing. It is proved that mismanagement by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has led to the decline in a variety of fish populations. Harp seal diets consist of around 3% Atlantic cod and it is further thought that killing seals may delay the recovery of the cod because seals eat other fish species that prey on cod.
ALL living beings deserve compassion, and consideration. This is an issue that many people feel very strongly about and I commend the action that those are taking to end it. As an active compainer against the seal hunt with vast knowledge on this topic I am fully aware that the media attempts to brainwash people into believing that the seal hunt is economically justifiable, humane, and needed: all of which is a lie. People need to open their eyes and really see what is going on.
The seal hunt only generates a small amount of annual income for the
sealers, so therefore it is not a matter of finances, especially because
many people, including celebrities, have offered to give exorbarent
amounts of money EVERY YEAR to end the hunt forever which the offer has been declined with scorn. The money offered would exceed the amount that the government and sealers make each year.
Then the argument is that people like to eat the seal meat, and use parts of
the seals for products but no one mentions that the seal hunt is for
fur, and that the carcasses are left on the ice to rot, therefore the meat,
etc. is not even used! Public information regarding the seal hunt is
misinformed and there are discrepancies. Not only is there no reason economically (as mentioned above) to continue this hunt, there is the basic animal welfare to consider. Post mortem studies have shown that many of these seals are SKINNED WHILE STILL ALIVE. Then there is the argument about how sealing mantains Newfoundlanders culture. Throughout history this argument has been used to excuse bigotry, racism, sexism, etc. Culture that includes cruelty, ignorance, and barbarism should be annihilated. All these factors are never mentioned: why? The public should be informed of what is really going on regarding this so called "hunt". The seal hunt needs to end. Plain and simple.
Check out:
http://www.sealhunt.ca/
yes and pristine Newfoundland with its tourist hoax image with its toxic bays of heavy metals and raw sewage.
time to step into the civilized age Newfoundland and find something DECENT to do for a living. You ruined your fishery but you've got some oil now.. how about not pretending things are so bad for you and putting some EFFORT into fixing the place.
The truth is a lot of people don't visit Canada over the seal hunt.
Politicians that back it just want the newfoundland vote and that's all they want. Votes over ethics and the most basic level of decency.
Lindsay - 16 years ago
Wow, so many people are disturbingly misinformed..
Shawn: "The hunt isn't pretty, but it's humane." Are you kidding? I have the distinct impression you have absolutely no clue what goes on during the seal hunt, otherwise you could not possibly write that.
The bottom line: Don't do things to other living creatures that you couldn't bear to see happen to your family.
Cory Dunham - 16 years ago
It all seems pointless to me ,and the position that the seals are depleting our fish stocks is ridiculous; I'm from the east coast and see pollution entering the Bay of Fundy regularly and across the shores around NS garbage can be found on most beaches this is where I would put my focus on as a cause of depleting fish stocks that as well as unsafe fishing practices and overfishing.
I'm not a vegan but eating meat/fish is a choice in today's world and I believe the sealing continues for one reason GREED.
Colleen - 16 years ago
you know you destroyed the fishery yourselves with longline practices and bottom trawling. the reason the cod stocks have to ability to rebound is because there is no where for the fry to hide due to the bottom being pulled up by trawlers.
When canada is behind russia on humane issues we know we have become a country of barbarians.
i do not want to support monsters who live on the pogey all year and bash baby seals to death in front of their mothers. These people aren't worth it. they are privileged white canadians and need to find livelihood that have some decency and dignity.
The world is increasingly disgusted with canada on a number of issues where we are way behind and this is one of them.
Anyone who supports the seal hunt needs to figure out we don't have the right to brutalize everything our path. The reason the world is in the shape it is in is the failure to recognize that fact.
Canada is in its infancy in terms of growing up. It is a shameful place now and canadians need to stop thinking the sun shines out of their arses
K - 16 years ago
Why kill the babies ,the seals were here before us , we are doing enough damage to the environment by our own hands, they are just living like we are trying to . We should get our act together before we kill animals because they are doing what they have done for years. If we didn't pollute the oceans we would have plenty of fish to go around for everyone.
Jessi - 16 years ago
there is NO excuse for animal abuse!
they need salmon to live but human beings just kill them for the god damn fur!!!! why not the aliens come and take those selfish barbarians away from our planet??
Shawn - 16 years ago
There are more than 5.5 million seals out there...more than double the population of people in all of Atlantic Canada. And let's be honest...those seals aren't ordering pizza..they're eating millions of tons of fish stocks.
The hunt isn't pretty, but it's humane. Too bad EU politicians press for a seal products ban and refuse to listen to their own scientists, who largely agreed with Canada's practices.
Sam Genest - 16 years ago
How funny was it when Danny Williams totally destroyed the McCartneys on Larry King Live.
divid - 16 years ago
Unfortunately these cute little guys also eat salmon.
I have no insight into the economic or natural world whatsoever but i do believe that baby seals are cute and feel pain, and andecdotes of seal clubbing makes me feel bad inside. I need to cheer myself up and go buy some new clothes [made by starving and abused childen in malaysia!]!
-a seal clubbing protester
Yes, people, there are much worse things in the world than seal clubbing. Like global warming, remember that? Or the fact that 1 billion people in the world are starving, and surely more people in Africa are being clubed to death than seals in Newfoundland. Stop wasting your time and energy protesting something that is really unimportant, and protest something that needs it! Grow up people. animals get killed for money. this will never change.
IF YOU *EVER* see ANYONE attempt to post that the seal hunt is to help the cod or fish that individual just posted falsified information.
"The commercial seal quota is ... not an attempt to assist in the recovery of groundfish stocks" said the DFO.
If any pro-sealer ever attempts to post that the seals are killed because of the fish, then that pro-sealer just violated and went AGAINST the DFO, which is the very agency that runs and operates the entire Canadian seal hunt which that person is attempting to stick up for. So in effect, that pro-sealer just went against his own hunt authorities and against his own country.
This argument is proven false. The DFO has told sealers to STOP saying it. And the 'seals ate the cod' line is debunked and cannot be used. If you see anyone trying to use that, take note of them, and that person can heretofore be considered untrustworthy, not knowlegeable on the hunt, and unreliable.
Senior DFO scientist, Jake Rice, has cautioned against planning predator culls as “ecosystem objectives”.
Even the DFO says the seal hunt is NOT done as a cull, the seal hunt is NOT conducted 'in order to manage the seal population', and it is NOT to "help the cod." Because scienctists, including Canada's own scientists, and DFO scientists have disproven this emotional old-wives-tale gossip from pro-sealers.
EVEN other sealers are telling these cheerleaders for the seal hunt to STOP posting the cod thing:
"No one blames seals for the collapse of the fish stocks," says Tina Fagan of the Canadian Sealers' Association.
Mind you, that's not animal helpers there, that's not activists saying that, that is the actual seal Killers telling these people such as this 'divid' and 'Shawn' up at the top, and any seal hunt cronies to STOP posting that 'but seals eat all the fish' junk! Because everyone knowledgeable about the seals and the fish have now concluded that line is FALSE!
Canadian Scientists: "DFO's own survey data show no parallel increase in cod deaths in the age group eaten by seals." -Biological Sciences division Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, atlantic canada.
Ok. Nova Scotia is a Sealing province! That information right there telling people that seals DO NOT reduce the cod, is not only coming from Canadians themselves, that's coming right out of a Sealing Province that engages in the hunt! And not only that, that's coming straight from the Dept of Fisheries, the agency charged with approving and encouraging the hunt! And telling people NO, the data show that seals ARE NOT reducing the cod.
"All scientific efforts to find an effect of seal predation on fish stocks have failed to show any impact.
Overfishing [by Fishermen themselves] remains the only scientifically demonstrated conservation problem related to fish stock collapse."
-Consensus of 97 scientists of 15 world countries at the 11th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals.
This same deal goes for anyone attempting to allege that the seal hunt is meant to 'manage the seal population' or 'control the seal population' or falsely attempts to assert that humans 'need to reduce the seal population' or attemts to post 'seals are 5.5 million and are greater than humans' or the falsified post 'seal population is exploding' or the concocted 'seal population has tripled' or 'the seal hunt is done to keep the seal population in check' garbage. This has all been debunked and shown to be falsified.
THIS is the actual information:
"We could not determine any rationale to limit the size of the population." -Asst Deputy Minister of the DFO.
So if you ever see anyone attempt to post that, whatever they typed has been concocted, debunked, and deemed junk by the very operators of the hunt itself & that persons entire post can be thrown out. Whatever else that pro-seal-hunt person said is also now called into question, because if they lack knowledge about that, then everything else they posted is questionabl
I can't believe that in 2009 mankind is still so brutal and cruel. People who kill inocent animals should be punished with jail. May be, some day, it will happen.
stop a la cruaute sous toutes ses formes
BobbyB, I'd actually laugh hysterically at your comment, if it weren't for the horrific result of ignorance and sheer cruelty that you're perpetuating. You question the ethics of those who oppose this hunt, by asking whether the same level of compassion is then felt for all animals. If you and many others weren't so blind and ignorant, you'd notice the long struggle to end cruelty - to all animals. As for vegetables, sorry to be the first to point this out, but they do not posses a central nervous system; responsible for feeling pain. Do your research, use your brain, and have a heart.
"Si rien ne se lit, si rien ne se voit, comment savoir ?"
I wonder if everyone against the killing of baby seals feels the same way about the slaughter of other animals like "milk fed veal" or is this just the cause celebre for them?
And just wait, these same sensitive souls will realize in the not to distant future that fruits and vegetables (like all other living things) also have feelings! Hah, just think about it when cabbage heads are harvested "off with their heads" and protestors start yelling at farmers!
People who are focused on the details of how humans harvest their food are the same ones that slow down and gawk at fatal traffic accidents!
If you don't like it don't buy it, don't eat it, don't look at it, don't write about it, and leave others that don't have a problem with it in peace so they can enjoy the, what are they called, "fruits of our labours"!
Ths culling of seals goes on regardless, people have been protesting for decades.
The places to aim at are the retailers who sell the skins of these beautiful creatures !
Shame on Canada and all those associated with the killing !
(should have gone through the comments first) Thank you Michelle DeWilde and "IKV" for your very informative comments. Always nice to see people actually Supporting their arguments with hard evidence. For those who support their opinions with bad rhetoric:
Animals hunt for sustenance. We began by hunting for the same thing: food. Hunting for reasons other than that, is nothing more than KILLING. Killing seals who do not even contribute significantly to the reduction in fish numbers, and who keep numbers of Other predators that DO eat the fish we want, is nothing short of Justified Murder. What NEEDS to be addressed, is the sustainability of our Fisheries, as Human Overfishing, and harmful fishing methods (bycatch and serious habitat damage are common consequences of certain methods) are the underlying cause of the Massive decline in most ocean fish populations! For More Info on fishing methods: http://www.mcbi.org/what/shiftinggears.htm; For more info on the seal hunt: http://www.harpseals.org/about_the_hunt/index.html (read THAT and tell me its a humane slaughter and Really all about fisheries) http://www.sciam.com/blog/60-second-science/post.cfm?id=four-seal-species-in-danger-of-slip-2009-03-25
I understand that the seals are numerous and consuming large amounts of fish. I understand that the hunt keeps the food web in balance. But honestly, the atrocious state of the ocean's food webs have less to do with seals, and more to do with HUMAN OVERFISHING.
The Japanese and Chinese are working very hard to make major species extinct; The Bluefin Tuna's population has been driven down to 1/10th it was 10 years ago mainly due to Japanese demand, and the Chinese demand for Shark fin (of any species) is soon going to remove that top predator from the oceans ecosystems. Both animals have long life-cycles, and cannot hope to rebuild their numbers with continued fishing.
Does this mean we should hunt down Japanese and Chinese fishermen and kill them too?
Killing off members of one species in order to save enough of another species for US to eat... A logically flawed argument at best, and the result of much too-anthropocentric (human-centric) thinking.
lkv, I absolutely agree with you, and Aude - humans are as far away from "animals" as domestic house cats are to the lions in Africa. You show me one hunter who tracks his prey, chases is down, kills it with his bare hands and eats is raw, there on the dirt, surrounded by flies - and dies of starvation if he can't catch it. THAT'S HOW THE ANIMALS DO IT. 99% of Canadians get their meat from the grocery store stuck to a maxi-pad to collect the offensive blood and covered in a shiny plastic wrap. As for the seal slaughter... before anyone has the thought to defend it, go out there on the ice flows and see, smell and hear it for yourself - and see if it's humane!
The surprise I feel when I read the submissions is shock (and amazing awe) at the spelling and grammar. What will people think of us for THIS example? Wipes out eh, eh?
How does anybody dare to say that the seal hunt is human???? I would love to see someone getting the same treatment as them and then saying its human!
And talking about the fish population, when we the humans destroy everything the earth gives us!!! We shouldn’t be eating the Fish in first place the “animal kingdom” should be left alone and the cycle should take its place without us constantly interrupting it by ravaging are oceans and land!
It make me laugh when I hear “well we have to control the seal population, so killing them is part of controlling this population” so what I guess we should be saying the same thing about humans .Look at all these countries like china ECT… so what we should kill them too to “control” the population??? Who are we to decide between life and death we are nobody on this planet. We take the right to do things and it’s unfair!
Enough is enough!!
We kill cows and chickens and harvest fish by the millions. Why is the seal hunt so bad in comparison? In fact, I think our fishing practices are arguably worse as they are not sustainable. We could conceivably drive some fish to extinction by overfishing. There is no danger (at least in the foreseeable future) of doing that with the seal hunt. Why are people not out protecting, salmon or tuna? (or cows, chickens, pigs, moose.....)
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Ikv, I understand your point of view, but I disagree... First, Man is an animal, so he is actually basically not better than a lion; secondly, I find your reasoning too "easy"... If you exist it's because Man began hunting (hervesters disappeared), and what could you say about people who live just because of hunt, maybe not in our "civilisized" countries, but in those where you not have choice (should we forbidden seal hunt to Inuits? What about some tribes in Africa or elsewhere? What about fishing? And studies proove that plants communicate, so we kill tomatoes and salads...)
Once again, I'm a vegetarian, I'd eat meat the day I could hunt myself (well, never I guess!), I don't use insecticides, I look where I put my feet... But I still think hunt is necessary in some cases for some people. What is true is that some kinds of hunt are a massacre and seal hunt is one of those (I know, I've seen)
I think your ideas are good, but things are complicated.
you call following a brave witness's account of the massacre (let's not call it a hunt - it's a bunch of men bashing infant animals to death as they frantically try to crawl way) at the HSI blog
http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/marine_mammals_news/live_from_the_ice_2009.html
Aude, there is no way you can paint hunting humane or not cruel. The very same idea of taking a life because you can (yes because you can, not because of necessity) is cruel by itself. Trying to justify it the way you did, doesn't make it all better. Hunters say to have a respect for the animal, kill them quickly, etc etc. But at the end of the day, do you kill everyone who you respect? Respect for life is what counts, not some thirst for flesh (without which we can obviously survive).
Wes, and because you believe that, it means wiping them by the billions every year. Is that a way of a tyrant or a caring shepherd? I would think the former. The difference is - we can easily survive without killing. But I would disagree, at this point we are nothing more if not worse than a lion out in the wild hunting antelopes, hungry for flesh - the only difference is that we lock ourselves in little boxes and pretend to be evolved hiding behind technology when our understanding and appreciation of the world is about as good as that of a cat.
First, sorry for my English, I hope I'll be understandable...
The way they're hunted should be banned, but not the hunt itself (why only seals? You can't just be against seals hunt: rabbits, foxes, mooses, etc. are as cute as a seal, aren't they?...) I love animals and I'm a vegetarian, but I think hunting's not a bad thing - every animals hunt - but I find the way seals are killed too much cruel (why a hook? why not a riffle or something faster?...). There are laws against cruauty against animals, even those which are raised for meat, so I think seals shouldn't be killed this way.
Other point: babies aren't killed anymore. By "babies" I mean little white ones ("blanchons" in French, I don't know in English), but I know that older ones (like teenagers (they're called "brasseurs")) are and sometimes, because they're wounded, they fall into water and because they don't know swimming already, they die drowned which is cruel and unnecessary. Concerning adults, I'm not sure those who are killed aren't parents of babies... I know that when people hunt deer or any other kind of animal, they can't kill a pregnant female or a female with a baby, is it the same for seals? I don't know...
seals are God creation too, they deserve to live in peace and harmony on earth. there's no reason to kill them, or the worst skinned alive!!!
the man can do this barbaric savages, sooner can do the same to other human being.... Canadian government have to stop this, there's many ways for economic or tradition, no need to slaughter animals, especially this defenseless harmless baby seals. NO MORE HUNT!
Well i am absolutely floored by some of the comments from so called caring human beings, when are they going to learn compasion and caring for all things living. Wearing fur is not a necessity, it is vanity these days. I maybe understand way way back when wearing fur kept humans warm, but today there is no excuse for it, or for the absolute inhumane way they kill these defenceless creatures. Imagine your baby being skinned alive then their skin worn by some pompas aragant person.
I am actually scared of these people.
Those who kill babies with such ease are people I hope I would never ever meet in my lifetime.
Watch this http://video.hsus.org/index.jsp?auto_band=x&rf=sv&fr_story=55e0248a275486840fdeca626eca87685c0a3cfe
I've seen the videos and normally I would question what it was I was seeing. But it was clear as day. This is animal abuse of the first degree. And the men (and women?) carrying it out look very unprofessional. I don't think they could ever make a movie where the hero is one of these, I hesitate to say 'hunters'. As soon as he got out on the ice, people would just walk out of the theatre.
Bad business. Yeah, let 'em go ahead and do it, 'cause I'm not for government regulation and bureaucracy... but it doesn't give a very 'Mounty' impression of our country, that's for sure.
I really don't care, but I saw a post in there I will respond to: I fully believe Humans to be above animals.
The commercial seal hunt is NOT humane, and it will contribute to the depletion of the harp seal population if it is allowed to continue. The government's own scientists acknowledge that the "Total Allowable Catch" is higher than what is sustainable. If humans allowed nature to take its course, there would be "normal" fluctuations in the various non-human populations. It is human interference in nature as a whole that has caused millions of species of animals to become extinct. There is simply NO excuse for this horrific "hunt". The sealers do not even earn a decent income from this "job" - just about 5% of their total income is gained from sealing. Write to your government officials and tell them what you think, and support Senator Mac Harb in his efforts to have a ban on this atrocious hunt.
While some of the comments were a bit much Paul, I believe it was only because people are so enraged and saddened right now- and sometimes during such times, they may make pretty bold comments. Clearly, they are exaggerating their feelings towards the culprits of this inhumane, unnecessary tragedy.
It is truly a tragedy. Hopefully one day, people will come together and change what obviously cannot be changed by our shameful government. It seems as though they are taking into account minority interests, at the cost of the majority. Luckily, the only cost to humans will be money, while to some, it will be their lives.
I must have stumbled on to the tolerance and forgiveness page. One commenter above suggested annihilate other cultures, another disparaged our Nfld. brethren and some just foam at the mouth.
Aside from the genocidal tones, I am curious to whether these same folks have an aversion to human abortion. Ya! I didn't think so.
As a Canadian I'm sickened by what my government is allowing. Only heartless, mindless scum can justify what we are doing to these helpless animals. Enough is enough.
think canada, your tax money is supporting buttf***ing newfies and paying for your fat neighbours hospital bills they incur from their heartattack they get from eating too much meat
I'm Canadian and currently, horridly ashamed. I was there taking part in the anti-hunt protests, and saw firsthand some of the attitudes on the subject that people have out there. I would say that the MAJORITY of people DON'T agree with the seal hunt. The problem is, we have a bunch of uninformed, greedy hicks up in parliament who clearly can’t think coherently about anything, from how to run a country to whether it’s even questionable that baby seals should or should not be bludgeoned to death and skinned alive for a wasteful and old-fashioned industry.
Divid - do you think the seals can order pizza?
Someone commented that the seal hunt, while brutal, was humane. So if your mother, brother, father, or childs head was caved in with a club, and they were left like that to suffer until they died, you'd maintain that treatment is humane? Or is your reply based on a self-bloated misconception that you are somehow superior to these animals?
The pro seal "hunt" arguments would be hilarious if it wasn't so brutally sad.
It doesn't matter what the pro seal "hunt" people say anyway. The market for seal skin is disappearing fast and with it will go this massacre.
Sadly it will always remain a dreadful blot on Canada's history.
yes seal eat fish. But the reason for the depleting fish "stock" (sic) is not seals. THINK CRITICALLY PEOPLE. Whta is the variable here? HUMANS.
WE are the ones killing all the fish. If we are NEEDED to "cull" (kill) the seals out of a concervationist effort to keep balance to nature, how exactly did the seals and the fish survive before humans arrived?
What many forget when they speak of their "traditionnal" ways is that humans have only been in America for less than 16 thousand years (humans have been around in their current state of evolution for over 3 million years)
so before humans were there to "take care" of nature guess what? the seals, caribou, cod, polar bears, etc, were doing JUST FINE for millions of years.
As for the natives claims, perhaps the Inuit need to be reminded that they are conquerors JUST LIKE THE CONQUISTADORS. They DECIMATED most large species as they crossed the berring straight. They are conquerors and intruders. to the salmon, wolves and bears, humans are Christopher Columbus.
But regardless we are talking about the COMMERCIAL SEAL HUNT and not natives hunting a few seals for their subsistance. Their is nothing sustainable and humane OR NATURAL about the commercial seal hunt.
As for the idiot who showed up Paul Mccartney on Larry King, I respect Paul McCartney but he is a musician, and he is British. I DARE that idiot to try to do the same to Captain Paul Watson or any other informed Canadian.
For a country that regards itself as one of the most prosperous, progressive and tolerant nations on this planet, the commercial seal hunt is nothing but a shameful anachronism. I have lived on both sides of the Atlantic, and I can tell you, when it comes to the environment and animal welfare, Canada is still years behind EU countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands.
The Fur Institute Of Canada are nothing more than a group of THUGS manipulating the minds of our weakest politicians..
Seals are meant to eat fish, They are natural predators. Humans are not. Humans should not be eating flesh, Humans choose to have high blood pressure, sugar diabetes, heart conditions , obesity on and on and on. Go ahead boil it fry it roast it. Try and kill all that would make you sick if you ate it raw like carnivores do. I am also sick that not only does my hard earned money go to this barbaric slaughter but that my hard earned money is spent on fixing flesh eaters medical problems caused by eating meat
Not only does this prove that the Canadian government has no respect for life, it clearly shows they're too stupid to realize that this will cause severe damage to Canada's reputation. After all doesn't tourism play a vital part in boosting the economy?
Wake up Canada. If you can't understand compassion - follow someone who does.
There seem to be a lot of propaganda out there. Most of it spread by the DFO and the enhanced by people who have no idea what they are talking about.
First of all the fisheries have been drained by the fishermen, seals have nothing to do with this, especially the cod. There are at least three peer reviewed papers clearly showing the evidence that the seals are not responsible for the fisheries, nor will they be responsible even now.
One of the papers (Lawson et. al., published in Marine Mammals Science, 2000 edition) clearly shows the diet of harp seals using stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes derived from muscle tissue and matched to 60 species of prey.
In 1995 at the conference on the Biology of the Marine Mammals in Orlando - NINETY SEVEN (97) scientists signed a petition disagreeing with the findings of the DFO (or Canadian Government), this petition was published in the IMMO.
"As professionals in the field of marine mammal biology we disagree with the Canadian government's statement that North Atlantic seals are a 'conservation problem'. All scientific efforts to find an effect of seal predation on Canadian groundfish stocks have failed to show any impact. Overfishing remains the only scientifically demonstrated conservation problem related to the fish stock collapse. If fishing closures continue, the indicates that the stocks will recover, and killing seals will not speed that process. "
Yet, the last report of the Canadian government, stills blurts the same nonsense. The head of the report is a person who is in the oil industry.. talking about the wrong person on the wrong job.
Second, those pups are babies close to or older than 4 weeks, they can't run they can't swim properly, the proper analogy is comparable to a baby thats just trying to walk. So lets cut the crap, just because they are not white doesn't mean they are not babies.
Third, stop quoting that absolutely appalling veterinary report from the CVJ, one of the researcher is a director of the Fur Institute of Canada, how does that make him objective.
I would never visit Canada. Federal animal welfare laws dating back to 1892, some of the cruelest transportation laws in the world for slaughter animals, the seal hunt, just a backwards bunch. Then there are the acts that canadian mining companies engage in in Africa fueling strife and genocide. and you're all so focused on being "nice" that you just turn your backs. Disgraceul nation without honor
The last time I checked, skinning an animal alive didn't exactly fit the definition of "humane". The biggest threat to our planet and everything on it, including depletion of fish from our waters, is not seals, it is US. But I suppose it's easier to live in denial and put the blame elsewhere, isn't it?
The fact that these barbaric acts of cruelty continue puts shame on all Canadians and those involved.
Seals do not "eat all the fish" and are categorically not responsible for the collapse of fish populations or impeding the recovery of various species of fish. There is overwhelming evidence, for instance, that cod stocks collapsed as a direct result of over-fishing. It is proved that mismanagement by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans has led to the decline in a variety of fish populations. Harp seal diets consist of around 3% Atlantic cod and it is further thought that killing seals may delay the recovery of the cod because seals eat other fish species that prey on cod.
ALL living beings deserve compassion, and consideration. This is an issue that many people feel very strongly about and I commend the action that those are taking to end it. As an active compainer against the seal hunt with vast knowledge on this topic I am fully aware that the media attempts to brainwash people into believing that the seal hunt is economically justifiable, humane, and needed: all of which is a lie. People need to open their eyes and really see what is going on.
The seal hunt only generates a small amount of annual income for the
sealers, so therefore it is not a matter of finances, especially because
many people, including celebrities, have offered to give exorbarent
amounts of money EVERY YEAR to end the hunt forever which the offer has been declined with scorn. The money offered would exceed the amount that the government and sealers make each year.
Then the argument is that people like to eat the seal meat, and use parts of
the seals for products but no one mentions that the seal hunt is for
fur, and that the carcasses are left on the ice to rot, therefore the meat,
etc. is not even used! Public information regarding the seal hunt is
misinformed and there are discrepancies. Not only is there no reason economically (as mentioned above) to continue this hunt, there is the basic animal welfare to consider. Post mortem studies have shown that many of these seals are SKINNED WHILE STILL ALIVE. Then there is the argument about how sealing mantains Newfoundlanders culture. Throughout history this argument has been used to excuse bigotry, racism, sexism, etc. Culture that includes cruelty, ignorance, and barbarism should be annihilated. All these factors are never mentioned: why? The public should be informed of what is really going on regarding this so called "hunt". The seal hunt needs to end. Plain and simple.
Check out:
http://www.sealhunt.ca/
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_
seal_hunt_facts.html
http://www.harpseals.org/
For further information.
yes and pristine Newfoundland with its tourist hoax image with its toxic bays of heavy metals and raw sewage.
time to step into the civilized age Newfoundland and find something DECENT to do for a living. You ruined your fishery but you've got some oil now.. how about not pretending things are so bad for you and putting some EFFORT into fixing the place.
The truth is a lot of people don't visit Canada over the seal hunt.
Politicians that back it just want the newfoundland vote and that's all they want. Votes over ethics and the most basic level of decency.
Wow, so many people are disturbingly misinformed..
Shawn: "The hunt isn't pretty, but it's humane." Are you kidding? I have the distinct impression you have absolutely no clue what goes on during the seal hunt, otherwise you could not possibly write that.
The bottom line: Don't do things to other living creatures that you couldn't bear to see happen to your family.
It all seems pointless to me ,and the position that the seals are depleting our fish stocks is ridiculous; I'm from the east coast and see pollution entering the Bay of Fundy regularly and across the shores around NS garbage can be found on most beaches this is where I would put my focus on as a cause of depleting fish stocks that as well as unsafe fishing practices and overfishing.
I'm not a vegan but eating meat/fish is a choice in today's world and I believe the sealing continues for one reason GREED.
you know you destroyed the fishery yourselves with longline practices and bottom trawling. the reason the cod stocks have to ability to rebound is because there is no where for the fry to hide due to the bottom being pulled up by trawlers.
When canada is behind russia on humane issues we know we have become a country of barbarians.
i do not want to support monsters who live on the pogey all year and bash baby seals to death in front of their mothers. These people aren't worth it. they are privileged white canadians and need to find livelihood that have some decency and dignity.
The world is increasingly disgusted with canada on a number of issues where we are way behind and this is one of them.
Anyone who supports the seal hunt needs to figure out we don't have the right to brutalize everything our path. The reason the world is in the shape it is in is the failure to recognize that fact.
Canada is in its infancy in terms of growing up. It is a shameful place now and canadians need to stop thinking the sun shines out of their arses
Why kill the babies ,the seals were here before us , we are doing enough damage to the environment by our own hands, they are just living like we are trying to . We should get our act together before we kill animals because they are doing what they have done for years. If we didn't pollute the oceans we would have plenty of fish to go around for everyone.
there is NO excuse for animal abuse!
they need salmon to live but human beings just kill them for the god damn fur!!!! why not the aliens come and take those selfish barbarians away from our planet??
There are more than 5.5 million seals out there...more than double the population of people in all of Atlantic Canada. And let's be honest...those seals aren't ordering pizza..they're eating millions of tons of fish stocks.
The hunt isn't pretty, but it's humane. Too bad EU politicians press for a seal products ban and refuse to listen to their own scientists, who largely agreed with Canada's practices.
How funny was it when Danny Williams totally destroyed the McCartneys on Larry King Live.
Unfortunately these cute little guys also eat salmon.