Very soon, the barbarity that is the seal hunt will begin once again in Canada. During this horrifically inhumane "hunting season", thousands upon thousands of baby seals will be slaughtered.
As this report from the Animal Law Coalition demonstrates, this hunt constitutes a sin against all that breathes:
- The Humane Society of the United States reports, "Ninety-five percent of the seals culled over the past five years were pups between just 12 days and 12 weeks of age, many of which had not yet eaten their first solid meal or learned to swim." They were too little to escape from the hunters.
- The International Fund for Animal Welfare invited a team of veterinarians to watch the massacre of the seals. These veterinarians have reported this so-called "hunt" fails to comply with Canadian law. They believe 43% of these beautiful animals were probably skinned alive. HSUS reports, "Video evidence clearly shows sealers routinely dragging conscious pups across the ice with boathooks, shooting seals and leaving them to suffer in agony" as they are then skinned alive and tossed back into the water.
- Animal welfare groups have reportedly documented more than 700 alleged violations of the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act that govern the seal hunt. HSUS reports these violations include "sealers failing to ensure the seals were dead prior to hooking and dragging them, and sealers clubbing seals on the face, jaw and neck instead of the skull."
What is perhaps more astonishing than the inhumanity displayed by those who torture and murder baby seals is that every year, the Canadian government gives this obscenity the green light, despite opposition from the majority of its citizens and from other countries. In fact, Canadian Coast Guard ships break the ice so that sealing ships can get through to begin the torture.
And for what? Sealing does nothing good for the Canadian economy whatsoever. It brings in no more than a few million dollars each year to Canada. More than 90% of sealers live in Newfoundland; only about 2% of their income is from seals. Sealing accounts for less than one-tenth of 1% of Newfoundland's economy. What's more, the practice will deplete the seal population by 50-70% over the next fifteen years, and also devastates cod supplies, since seals eat predators of cod such as squid, and if there are more squid, there is less cod.
Canadians pride themselves on being a civilised nation (generally, their sense of moral superiority derives from simply pointing out that they are not Americans). So how, in the 21st century, can the government still approve of something like this?
Come on, Canada; you're supposed to know better.
As this report from the Animal Law Coalition demonstrates, this hunt constitutes a sin against all that breathes:
- The Humane Society of the United States reports, "Ninety-five percent of the seals culled over the past five years were pups between just 12 days and 12 weeks of age, many of which had not yet eaten their first solid meal or learned to swim." They were too little to escape from the hunters.
- The International Fund for Animal Welfare invited a team of veterinarians to watch the massacre of the seals. These veterinarians have reported this so-called "hunt" fails to comply with Canadian law. They believe 43% of these beautiful animals were probably skinned alive. HSUS reports, "Video evidence clearly shows sealers routinely dragging conscious pups across the ice with boathooks, shooting seals and leaving them to suffer in agony" as they are then skinned alive and tossed back into the water.
- Animal welfare groups have reportedly documented more than 700 alleged violations of the Marine Mammal Regulations under the Fisheries Act that govern the seal hunt. HSUS reports these violations include "sealers failing to ensure the seals were dead prior to hooking and dragging them, and sealers clubbing seals on the face, jaw and neck instead of the skull."
What is perhaps more astonishing than the inhumanity displayed by those who torture and murder baby seals is that every year, the Canadian government gives this obscenity the green light, despite opposition from the majority of its citizens and from other countries. In fact, Canadian Coast Guard ships break the ice so that sealing ships can get through to begin the torture.
And for what? Sealing does nothing good for the Canadian economy whatsoever. It brings in no more than a few million dollars each year to Canada. More than 90% of sealers live in Newfoundland; only about 2% of their income is from seals. Sealing accounts for less than one-tenth of 1% of Newfoundland's economy. What's more, the practice will deplete the seal population by 50-70% over the next fifteen years, and also devastates cod supplies, since seals eat predators of cod such as squid, and if there are more squid, there is less cod.
Canadians pride themselves on being a civilised nation (generally, their sense of moral superiority derives from simply pointing out that they are not Americans). So how, in the 21st century, can the government still approve of something like this?
Come on, Canada; you're supposed to know better.
just for their fur ---- marketed as "fake fur" no less --- 
---- they're so unnecessarily barbaric it's on the map.
