The Canadian commercial seal "hunt" is the largest mass slaughter of marine mammals in the world. Canada intends to kill over 325,000 seals this spring
Canadian author and naturalist (and Sea Shepherd International Chairman), Farley Mowat, estimates that for every seal landed, another is shot and lost under the ice, not to be included in the count.
The Seal Shepherd Conservation Society says:
Clearly, the government of Canada is willing to sacrifice everything (from their national reputation, to the wrath of the taxpayers, to economic hardship from boycotts) to continue their seal hunt which is nothing more than a make-work project for out-of-work fishermen.But help is on the way. Nature is restoring some balance in a small way.
. . . . The Canadian government looks for as many avenues as possible to profit from their annual, government-subsidized slaughter. Currently, Canada exports the following seal products: sealskins (furskins/pelts and leather), seal oil, and seal meat. Unfortunately, due to a revived fashion trend, the demand for seal pelts has sky-rocketed, especially in Europe.
More than 100 fishing and sealing vessels are stuck in ice off the coast of Newfoundland, forcing a number of them to evacuate their crews.
2 comments:
It just makes me cry. Human cruelty for the sake of personal adornment is especially beyond comprehension.
Horrible. I was under the impression that Canada was more humane: littlebill, your statement against animal cruelty is exactly right.