Canadian Seal Hunt
I am leaving this post public because it is very important to me and I want everyone to be able to see this and realize what is going on.
Okay, for my environmental science class, we do current event articles once a week. I came across this and it broke my heart. I posted my synopsis for the class below with links to the articles. This makes me just livid. I am no tree-hugger. I'm not part of PETA. I am not a vegetarian and I am not running around crusading for animal rights, but this is seriouesly WAY TOO FUCKING FAR. How can they allow this bullshit to go on? Fucking heartless.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS VERY GRAPHIC. DO NOT WATCH IT IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE.
Click to viewWall Street Journal | Associated Press | Telegraph
The annual Canadian seal hunt (the largest marine mammal slaughter in the world) has begun and so far, more than 20,000 seals were killed in the first week according to the Wall Street Journal article (19,000 says the AP). The Canadian government is allowing hunters to kill 338,200 harp, hooded and gray seals this year (AP) , 280,000 of which harp seals (WSJ, Telegraph). The number of harp seals allowed to be killed has increased 5,000 from 2008 (Telegraph). The Telegraph states the harp seal population is currently 5.5 million and the AP says Canadian authorities estimate the total seal population at 6.4 million. Government scientists say that the allowed number of seals to be killed is 10,000 too many to be sustainable (WSJ).
People all over the world are protesting the seal hunt, saying that it is inhuman, cruel, unnecessary, wasteful, and unsustainable. The Canadians fisheries department argues that the hunt is not inhumane and is sustainable (although they don’t provide any evidence of these claims) and say it brings in money to isolated fishing communities in Canada. Most of the seal pelts are sold to Russian, Norwegian, and Chinese fashion industries and blubber is sold for oil. In 2006, the exports to the EU generated $5.5 million. Protestors argue that with the recession and the EU’s decision to ban these seal products, there is no reason to continue the hunt in such magnitude.
The harp seals being killed for their pelts are as young as 3 weeks old. In addition to the large number of seals being killed, many others are wounded and later die. Rebecca Aldworth, the director of the Humane Society International Canada estimates the numbers of seals that die from injury are more than 19,400, which are not accounted for in the government quota.
The USA banned Canadian seal products in 1972, and since then, the Netherlands and Belgium have followed suit. Russia announced this month that they would ban them as well. Canadian Senator Marc Harb is pushing for a bill that will end the commercial seal hunt in Canada, which is the first time a Canadian politician has introduced legislation to end the practice (WSJ). Sheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare said that the way the government insists on keeping the hunt in practice is solely based on politics and is without reason.