These are such amazing creatures and Fiona expresses it so well in her article about the seals. I hope you will take the time to go to the link at the bottom and read her account of her visit to the birth grounds of the Harp Seals ! The pups so curious, and with no fear, as curious of you as you are of them, they will welcome your affections. How sad it is that when the killers come , they don't have the fear or even the means if they could, to escape. They are at the total mercy of these killers, and believe me, there is no mercy or compassion shown during the slaughter....Where else in the world is there a mass slaughter of infants in front of their mothers, who will defend them to the end, and remain with the lifeless and bodies of their pups even after their skins have been so brutally taken from them..... !
"I have watched Paul's progress for almost two decades - watched with growing admiration (and not a little envy) as he committed himself heart, soul and body to the defense of the living planet."
- Farley Mowat
"Captain Paul Watson is by far the most knowledgeable, dedicated and courageous environmentalist alive today, and Ocean Warrior is his continuing odyssey."
- Martin Sheen
You say that the battle is over
You say that the war is all done
Well tell it those with the wind in their nose
Who run from the sound of the gun
Write it on the sides of the great whaling ships
On the ice floes where conscience is tossed
With the wind in their eyes, it is they who must die
And it's we who must suffer the lost.
~ David Mallett ~
(recorded by John Denver)
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Captain Paul Watson
Founder and President, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization in the U.S. Founded in 1977 by Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd's mission is
to defend, conserve and protect marine wildlife and their ecosystems.
Call +1-360-370-5650 to make a donation over the phone.
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HELP TO FREE THE UNLAWFULLY DETAINED SEA SHEPHERD ANTI-WHALING SHIP IN
SOUTH AFRICA - CAPE TOWN.
Cape Town, 10 February 2006: The SEA SHEPHERD Conservation Society's flag ship, the Farley Mowat, remains incarcerated in Cape Town Harbour after being detained by the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) upon arrival in Cape Town on 24 January, 2006, from her anti-whaling campaign in the Antarctic waters.
Neither SEA SHEPHERD nor the Farley Mowat has violated any South African laws or contravened any international regulations to warrant this detention.
North Thanet`s MP, Roger Gale, President of the Conservative Animal Welfare Group has today
( Tuesday 15th March ) joined campainers from Sea Shepherd and Respect at the Canada House to protest against the annual seal cull off Prince Edward Island
which is now due to commence at the end of this month.
Roger Gale, who has visted PEI and seen the cull for himself at close quarters said at the gathering:
"In 1999 the seal population was estimated at 5.5 million animals and nearly a million have been killed since 2000. Driving the hunt - which has little to do with the conservation of seals or fish stocks - is the steep rise in the value of seal pelts. The price has more than tripled over the past ten years from $20 to $70 dollarrs due to contemporary fashion and the sad resurgence in the wearing of real-fur clothing.
The method of clubbing seals with a hakapik - which I have witnessed - is a little short of barbaric way of killing an animal. It is claimed that Canadian fishermen are "expert" in the use of this weapon but the rate of slaughter is so fast that frequently the young animals are still alive when they are skinned".
Last year about 5000 hunters took 365,000 seals, ranging in age from just 20 to 60 days.
Animal welfare organisations are now uniting to urge a boycott of Canadian fish and seafood products worldwide. The intention, described by the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans as "blackmail", is to bring home to the hunters and to the Canadian government the message that this slaughter is simply no longer acceptable. (ENDS)
Canada has sharpened its language in a growing diplomatic dispute with Britain over the East Coast seal hunt, slamming as "unfounded and unhelpful" a British government statement expressing concern about the "reported cruelty" of the annual harvest, and promising to lead the push for a Europe-wide ban on seal products.
Paul's Comment: Hunt supporters are trotting out their same old, tired arguments.
As I have said in bulletins before, I wouldn't trust the professional "skills" of any "veterinary expert" who thinks clubbing baby seals is in any way "humane."
Whether or not the methods used by the seal hunters "compare favourably" with methods of slaughtering other animals is irrelevant. This amounts to a tu quoque argument, which is a logical fallacy. "We're no more barbaric than those barbarians over there!"
Also irrelevant is the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' statement that clubs "have been used by sealers since the onset of the hunt hundreds of years ago," and that hakapiks "originated with Norwegian sealers who found it very effective."
The "effectiveness" of historical acts of barbarism do not reduce their barbarity in the least.
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Here are the top three myths told by Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) about the upcoming commercial seal hunt:
Myth #1: The seal hunt is humane.
All available evidence, including veterinary reports and independent observations, indicates that each year tens of thousands of seal pups die in an unacceptably cruel manner inconsistent with contemporary animal welfare standards.
Year after year, observers report abuses such as the hooking and dragging of live seals across the ice, seals clubbed or shot and left to suffer on the ice, and seals skinned while conscious. While all recent veterinary reports recommend reducing the suffering of seals, their recommendations have not been fully implemented. There is no doubt that Canada's commercial seal hunt continues to result in considerable and unacceptable suffering.
Myth #2: The seal hunt is closely monitored and well managed.
The seal hunt involves thousands of sealers competing for a limited number of seals during a relatively short period of time. Sealers are concerned with killing as many animals as quickly as possible instead of checking to see if a seal is dead before moving on to club the next one.
Year after year, IFAW hunt observers encounter seals that have been clubbed and left to suffer on the ice, bleeding profusely, crying, breathing and attempting to crawl. These are not "reflexes" as the DFO claims, which are easily recognised and familiar to those observing the seal hunt.
During 2006, the DFO claimed to have had 12 monitors for the Gulf hunt, the largest enforcement effort ever. Yet sealers in one region were allowed to take three times their quota without any consequences. In fact the Total Allowable Catch has been exceeded in four of the past five years.
Myth #3: The seal hunt is sustainable.
An unsuspecting young seal relaxes on the ice.
A recent study by IFAW scientists found that the current management approach risks depleting the harp seal herd by as much as 70% in the next 15 years. Seal catch quotas set by the Canadian government are much higher than government scientists' estimates of what is sustainable, and these quotas are then allowed to be exceeded.
The DFO often states that the harp seal population has tripled since the 1970s. However, this ignores the fact that between 1950 and 1970 the harp seal population was reduced by as much as two-thirds from seal hunting. Since 1995, harp seals are being killed at levels similar to those that caused a dangerous decline in the past, and the DFO now admits that the population has declined.
Climate change is also presenting a new threat to the harp seal population by negatively impacting their breeding habitat. Increasingly, poor ice conditions off the east coast of Canada are causing higher than normal seal pup mortality. Government scientists estimate that in 2002, 75% of the pups in the Gulf of St. Lawrence died due to a lack of ice before the hunt even began. Yet the government continues to increase the total allowable catches for harp seals, putting the population at increased risk.
Jeremy Kinsman: Diplomatically Speaking Peaceable Canadians.
Who, nous?
11th April 2007
Please take action NOW for the seals! As they bleed and drag themselves across the ice, the Canadian government insists that the slaughter is "humane"!
Not only that, but Canadian media is notoriously slanted in favour of seal killers and their political supporters. Canadians who oppose the slaughter do not have a voice within their own country.
With recent developments against the seal slaughter throughout Europe, letters to international media from caring Canadians can have an influential impact on millions of Europeans to encourage their governments to act on trade bans. Additionally, citizens from around the globe can voice their opposition to the annual carnage in Canada.
Click on the link below, and you will find a list of the most influential media by country. At the bottom of the media contacts webpage, "click on this database link" to access additional European media outlets.
Video evidence of cruelty speaks more than a thousand words. Please include the following link in your correspondence: http://hsus.typepad.com/seals/2007/04/index.html#entry-32554582 . Inexcusable brutality to animals can be viewed here, as well as proof that sealers are breaking Canadian law by clubbing whitecoats.
As phrased by lawyer Clayton Ruby, the seal slaughter is "cruel, criminal, and out of control". Nothing has changed since he made that statement!
To read the latest diaries from IFAW monitors on the scene of the hunt. See the latest footage from the scene of the hunt and listen to IFAW monitors describe in their own words the cruelty they are documenting firsthand.
