"Immediate banning can result from any of the following: The posting of pornography; discriminatory remarks which are sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive; excessive obscene or vulgar language; posts which discuss or illustrate illegal activity; providing links to sites that contain any of the aforementioned."

Wow, I can copy and paste too. Wesley, keep posting to try to wash away your ignorant racist comments.

n Depth
Seal Hunt
The Atlantic seal hunt – FAQs
Last Updated March 29, 2007
CBC News

There are few issues more controversial in Canada and around the world than the annual hunt of seals that takes place in the waters and on the ice floes off Atlantic Canada.

QUICK FACTS:

* New harp seal quota for 2007 hunt: 270,000
* Harp seal quota for 2006 hunt: 325,000
* Estimated size of the seal herd off Atlantic Canada: 5.5 million
* Price realized for best seal pelts in 2006: $105

Source: DFO

The bloody images, the heated rhetoric, the impassioned defences — they all combine in a familiar rite that pits governments and sealers against animal rights groups that decry the hunt, even as they use it as a primary fundraising tool.

Few facts in this debate go unchallenged. All sides agree on where and when. But how, why, and even how many aren't dealt with as cleanly.

Even the language is chosen carefully — words become instruments of reassurance or weapons of outrage. Hunt or slaughter. Harvest or cull. Sea mammals or baby seals. Cherished tradition or economic disaster. Cod-eating nuisance or adorable innocent.

Words, of course, are only some of the tools. The images of the hunt can be much more powerful and seal hunt opponents know it. Most people find the pictures difficult to watch. Supporters say the same kind of thing happens in slaughterhouses — places where cameras aren't allowed.

But there's no question that those with an interest in the debate have studied the arguments and methods of the other side well, refuting the opposing argument to persuade the undecided or reconvert the converted.

Answers to frequently asked questions on this issue often begin from the same starting point before veering off in opposing directions. Here are a few of those questions and how the big stakeholders respond:
1. How big is the Atlantic seal hunt, where is it taking place, and what exactly is being hunted?

There are federal quotas for three types of seals: harp seals, hooded seals and grey seals. Most of the hunt is for harp seals. The hunt usually opens in March in the "Gulf" areas around the Magdalen Islands and Prince Edward Island. The main hunt on the so-called "front" usually begins in April off the east coast of Newfoundland. It's pretty much over by May.

The 2007 harp seal total allowable catch has been set at 270,000. That's down from the 2006 quota, 325,000, and about the same as the quota set from 1997 to 2002.

Seal hunters do not always catch as many seals as they are allowed. The catch in 2001 was 226,000. In 2000, it was just 92,000 seals. Sometimes, hunters are allowed to exceed the pre-season quota: in 2002, the catch was 312,000 seals.

The total allowable catch for harp seals is split between two areas: 70 per cent for the waters off Newfoundland and 30 per cent for the St. Lawrence Gulf region.
2. What about those cute whitecoat seals?

Whitecoats are newborn harp seals. Most Canadians can recall pictures of whitecoated seal pups being clubbed. The images were so inflammatory that Canada banned all hunting of whitecoats and bluebacks (in fact hooded seals) in 1987.

You'd never know that from some of the anti-sealing groups that still prominently display pictures of whitecoats on their websites and in fundraising materials. One site even features a downloadable video of people hugging whitecoats. The reality is that whitecoats can't be hunted anymore.

It's also true that young harp seals lose their white coats (and their protection) at about 12 to 14 days of age. After that, they're fair game for hunters, although they're usually about 25 days old before they're hunted. Most harp seals taken are under the age of three months. Young yes, whitecoats no.
3. Isn't it true that the hunt is cruel and seal pups are often skinned alive?

This is a frequent accusation levelled by hunt opponents. The International Fund for Animal Welfare says seals are routinely clubbed or shot and left to suffer on the ice until they're clubbed later.

The IFAW also charges that seals are often "skinned before being rendered fully unconscious" and said its observers found that few sealers check for a blinking reflex to confirm brain death before skinning begins. Similar "skinning alive" accusations have also been made by other groups, with many citing studies claiming that up to 45 per cent of seals are "skinned alive."

A 2002 report in the Canadian Veterinary Journal found that "the large majority of seals taken during this hunt … are killed in an acceptably humane manner." This study found that 98 per cent of hunted seals it examined had been killed properly. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) cites this study among others as proof that the hunt opponents are wrong in their accusations of widespread cruelty.

Regarding the "skinning alive" charge, the DFO says appearances can be deceiving. "Sometimes a seal may appear to be moving after it has been killed," the DFO says. "However, seals have a swimming reflex that is active, even after death. This reflex falsely appears as though the animal is still alive when it is clearly dead — similar to the reflex in chickens."

Furthermore, the DFO says the club, or "hakapik," used by many sealers is "an efficient tool" that kills "quickly and humanely." The Royal Commission on Seals and Sealing in Canada found that clubbing, when properly performed, is at least as humane as killing methods in commercial slaughterhouses. Opponents say clubbing often isn't "properly performed."

The federal government acknowledges that it has laid more than 200 charges against sealers since 1996, but argues that shows it's serious about enforcing its regulations.
4. Isn't sealing an important economic activity for an economically disadvantaged group?

The economic value of the seal hunt is another one of those things that is open to interpretation. The federal government says the landed value of seals exceeded $16.5 million in 2005, providing a "significant" source of income for thousands of sealers — benefiting them and their families at a time when, according to the DFO, "other fishing options are unavailable, or limited at best, in many remote, coastal communities."

The DFO says the 2005 seal catch ranked fifth in value of all the species it monitors, after snow crab, shrimp, lobster, and cod.

Still, seal amounts to only a fraction of the $600-million Newfoundland fishery. But for some sealers, it represents up to one-third of their annual income. And in a province with jobless rates north of 15 per cent, they say that means even more.

Not so fast, say the anti-sealing groups. The IFAW describes the contribution of sealing to Newfoundland's GDP as "trivial" and says after costs and indirect subsidies are taken into account (patrolling the hunt, upgrading plants, promoting the hunt, developing new markets for seal products and supporting research to find new products), Canadians would "likely find that the hunt actually costs the Canadian taxpayer money."

It's a pointless activity, in the view of the IFAW, which says, "the only economically valuable part of the seal is its fur, a non-essential luxury product that no one really needs."

The DFO flatly denies that it subsidizes the seal hunt. It also denies charges that the seal hunt is not sustainable. It says Canada's seal population is "healthy and abundant" at about five million animals and "triple what it was in the 1970s.
"

But the IFAW says the hunt has become a "cull, designed more to achieve short-term political objectives than those of a biologically sustainable hunt." For one thing, the group says Canada's management plan fails to account for wide variations in the natural mortality rates among seal pups.

A critique from Greenpeace also said the quotas are "scientifically indefensible" because they don't take into account the actual number of seals killed in the hunt — including those that are "struck and lost," or discarded because of pelt damage.
5. We all know what's happened to the Atlantic cod fishery. Don't seals eat cod?

Yes, harp seals do eat cod, among other things. But both sides now appear to agree that seals and cod can coexist. In March 2005, Greenpeace called on then federal Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan to "dispel the myth that seals are hampering the recovery of cod stocks." A letter from Greenpeace said, "the DFO has been a partner in perpetuating this myth."

But the DFO says sealing opponents are setting up a straw man (or seal, in this case) and then knocking it down. The federal government says anti-sealing groups are wrong to suggest that it's allowing the hunt to help cod stocks recover.

"The commercial seal quota is established based on sound conservation principles, not an attempt to assist in the recovery of groundfish stocks," the DFO says. "Seals eat cod, but seals also eat other fish that prey on cod."

:)

If you make 50 more posts then yesterday's display of stupidity will be gone... post away so readers can't see how inconsistant your posts are and how many silly ignorant comemnts you make...
"I don't see pictures therefore no seals are landed in Newfoundlanded" Quotas are left unfilled every year...

Wesley you're an ignorant moron looking for a cause and you're stupid enough to fall for whatever someone puts in front of you.. here fishy, fishy, fishy… come support my campaign to rid Canada of ignorant discriminatory idiots who hide behind causes that are driven by fundraising efforts. Our fundraiser has pictures of cute Newfoundland dog and Labrador Retriever puppies being banished… we accept checks and money orders. You’re a dimwit who hates the seal hunt because you hate Newfoundland and associate the two… simple minds have trouble distinguishing.

After your comments about Newfoundland it is obvious that you do not understand reason, you’re probably uneducated, obviously unintelligent, possibly retarded, and you're opinions are no different than any other hate group... perhaps you're a skin head who hates blacks and Jews as well so Newfoundlanders don’t need to feel singled out… regardless I'd love to have an opportunity to rid the earth of your hate by beating you to death with a seal skin wrapped bat.. or any object for that matter and I have no doubt that you’re a spineless coward who would say less than half as much if you weren’t behind a monitor. I love the double standard society seems to have with tolerance of some hate and acceptance of other.

"THE DFO (DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS) DESPERATELY WANTS TO KEEP THESE IMAGES OUT OT THE PUBLIC EYE" Why does Fisheries and Oceans not allow filming of the seal hunt? Could it be because Fisheries and Oceans doesn't enforce it's own regulations and quotas. Fisheries and Oceans is a disgrace. It's supposed to enforce the law, not protect poachers.

"THE MASS KILLING OF EVERY YOUNG SEAL IN SIGHT IN THE MOST BRUTAL AND BARBARIC FASHION. I WILL NEVER FORGET WHAT I HAVE SEEN."
........................................ ..............

Seal Hunters not Following New Licensing Conditions; Seals Suffer

March 29, 2008

Seal hunt observers documented apparent violations of the new sealing license conditions today in Cabot Strait. International journalists and world-renowned photographer Nigel Barker joined The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International in documenting the inherent cruelty of the commercial seal hunt today.

"We witnessed baby seals being brutally bludgeoned and shot to death," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of Animal Programs for Humane Society International-Canada. "Defenseless baby seals are dying in agonizing ways, and we are determined to expose this cruelty to the world."

The Canadian government claims sealers are now required to implement a 3-step killing process involving stunning, checking for unconsciousness and bleeding. Yet none of the sealers observed by The HSUS adhered to the conditions.

"Not one hunter bothered to follow the new licensing conditions," said Aldworth. "I also saw repeated regulatory violations, including sealers failing to ensure seals were dead before impaling them on metal hooks and dragging them across the ice."

"I witnessed with my own eyes, my own camera and my own video crew blatant violations of the rules and regulations by sealers," Nigel Barker, world-renowned photographer and judge on "America's Next Top Model," commented. "Several weeks ago, I documented the birth of the seal pups or 'white coats,' and—earlier this week—photographed the beautiful silver, speckled, two-week-olds and finally today the mass killing of every young seal in sight in the most brutal and barbaric fashion. I will never forget what I have seen and will never stop until it ends."

HSUS/Milani
Sealers drag seals onto a vessel March 29.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has once again decided to prevent journalists and animal welfare experts from observing opening day of the seal hunt. Nova Scotia's begins at dawn Sunday, and DFO officials informed The HSUS that it would not issue observation permits until after holding a 10 a.m. Sunday conference call—four hours after hunting commences.

There is no guarantee observers will receive permits at that time. On the opening day of the Magdalene Islands hunt, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans refused to issue permits for the first half of the day.

"The DFO desperately wants to keep these images out of the public eye," said Aldworth. "The Canadian government knows if the European Commission is allowed to see what is actually happening on the ice this year, it will realize there is no humane way to conduct this hunt," she concluded. "This hunt is inhumane and unsustainable, and it must stop now."

Aldworth, journalists and other HSUS and HSI staff plan to continue observing the hunt.

http://www.hsicanada.ca/s eals/seal_myths...

Myths and Facts: The Truth about Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt
Myth: It is illegal to kill baby seals in Canada.

Fact: Canada's commercial seal hunt is a slaughter of defenseless baby seals. It is true that in Canada, newborn "whitecoat" harp seals are protected from hunting. But as soon as they begin to shed their fluffy white coats—as young as 12 days old—these baby seals are legally hunted by sealers. In fact, 97 percent of the seals killed in the commercial seal hunt over the past three years have been younger than 3 months, and most were younger than 1 month old. At the time of slaughter, many of these pups had not yet eaten their first solid meal or taken their first swim. Sealers prefer to kill the baby seals because their skins are in "prime" condition and fetch the highest prices.

Myth: The seal hunt is humane.

Fact: In 2001, an independent veterinary panel performed post-mortems on seal carcasses abandoned on the ice floes. Their report concluded that in 42 percent of cases, the seals did not show enough evidence of cranial injury to even guarantee unconsciousness at the time of skinning. This report is supported by the testimony of independent journalists, parliamentarians and scientists who observe and document the commercial seal hunt each year. Footage from the commercial seal hunt consistently shows conscious pups stabbed with boathooks and dragged across the ice, wounded pups left to choke on their own blood and conscious seal pups cut open. Video footage of the 2005 hunt can be viewed at www.protectseals.org.

Myth: The seal hunt is sustainable.

Fact: Scientists agree that current kill levels are not sustainable. A recent study by Stephen Harris, a professor at Bristol University in the UK, asserts that the Canadian management regime for harp seals does not apply a precautionary principle and threatens the survival of seal populations. (The report is available on www.protectseals.org.) Over the past 10 years, between one-third and one-half of all seal pups have been slaughtered by commercial sealers. Because seals only reach breeding age at 6 years, the impacts of high hunting levels are only starting to be felt. Under the current management plan, by the time the Canadian government decides to take action to save the population, it may be too late to intervene. Today's kill levels meet and even exceed those of the 1950s and 1960s, when over-hunting quickly reduced the harp seal population by nearly two-thirds.

Myth: The seal population is "exploding" and a cull is necessary.

Fact: In an attempt to defend the commercial seal hunt, the Canadian government often states that the harp seal population has 'tripled' over the past three decades. But they conveniently neglect to mention that over-hunting in the 1950s and '60s had reduced the population by nearly two-thirds. A dramatic decline in hunting levels in the 1980s allowed the population to rebuild, but today's kill levels now meet and even exceed those of the 1950s and '60s. Harp seals already have many natural predators, including sharks, whales and polar bears—and now the seals have a new threat to contend with—climate change. As the ice cover the harp seals need to give birth and nurse their pups on rapidly begins to disappear, the population will face devastating rates of natural mortalities. Those advocating a cull of harp seals are ignoring sound science and common sense.

Myth: The seal hunt provides important income to 16,000 sealers and their families.

Fact: Sealers are commercial fishermen who earn a small fraction of their incomes from killing seals—the rest from commercial fisheries such as crab, shrimp and lobster. Even in Newfoundland, where more than 90 percent of sealers live, the government estimates that there are only about 4000 active sealers. Tina Fagan, former executive director for the Canadian Sealers Association, explains that while many fishermen may take out licenses to kill seals, a much smaller number participate each year: "The reason for the large number of licenses vis-à-vis the smaller number of active sealers is the fact that if they do not renew their license in any given year, they will not be eligible in the following year" (http://www.norden.org/pub /miljo/miljo/sk...).

Newfoundland's fishery has never been wealthier, earning nearly $200 million more annually than it did prior to the 1992 cod collapse. This economic growth is because of the expansion of the shellfish industry, which today accounts for 80 percent of the value of Newfoundland's fishery. Sealing, in contrast, brings in only 2 percent. Revenues from the hunt account for less than one-half of 1 percent of the province's economy.

Myth: Seals eat too many fish and are preventing recovery of fish stocks.

Fact: There is not a shred of credible evidence to suggest that killing harp seals will bring back fish stocks. Human overfishing caused the collapse of groundfish stocks, and human overfishing is preventing their return. Seals are a convenient scapegoat for the fishing industry, providing a distraction from the destructive commercial fishing practices that continue today.

Seals, like all marine mammals, are a vital part of the ecosystem of the northwest Atlantic and help all fish populations to thrive. Moreover, harp seals are opportunistic feeders, consuming small amounts of many species. While commercially fished cod stocks may account for about 3 percent of their diets, harp seals also consume many significant predators of cod, including squid. Even the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans admits that there is no evidence killing seals will help bring fish stocks back—and their latest research shows the opposite may be the case.

Myth: The Canadian government does not subsidize the commercial seal hunt.

Fact: A 2001 report by the Canadian Institute for Business and the Environment found more than $20 million in government subsidies provided to the Canadian sealing industry over the seven year period 1995-2001. While tracking subsidies to the sealing industry is difficult (the information is not public), government subsidies to the sealing industry were granted as recently as 2004, when nearly $400,000 was provided to two sealing companies to process and develop seal products.

Myth: Animal protection groups campaign to save the seals just to raise funds.

Fact: Animal protection groups working to stop the commercial seal hunt are charities and non-profits. They rely on donations from the public to carry out their work, and all the funds that are raised are spent on campaigns to save animals.

Myth: Canadians support a "humane" and "sustainable" seal hunt.

Fact: National public opinion polling consistently shows that the overwhelming majority of Canadians oppose the commercial seal hunt. A poll conducted by Environics Research in 2005 shows 69 percent of Canadians are opposed to the seal hunt outright, and even higher percentages oppose inherent aspects of the hunt, such as the killing of seal pups. Attempts by the Canadian government to show the opposite consistently fail.

>> Return to the main Seals page

Take Action to End the Seal Hunt

http://www.stopthesealhun t.ca/site/c.jhK...

The Suffering of These Seals Will Break Your Heart

"Many of the seals were only wounded as the skinning began. Often a seal's tail flipper moved violently, side-to-side, trying to squirm away as it felt the knife. One seal lifted its head and tried to cry out but managed only a soft, throaty birdcall. Several seals tried to grab the knife with their front paws, blindly, pawing and wrenching until they fell still."

IFAW Monitor

This is the hyperlink to the film and photos to the article below.

www.thenewsmarket.com/ifa w.

“Humane” claims by Canadian delegation in Europe refuted by new video evidence from seal hunt

April 4, 2008

(Ottawa, Canada – 4 April 2008) – As Canadian government officials continue a European tour in attempt to forestall an EU ban on seal products, IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare – www.ifaw.org) released new video evidence refuting the government’s claims that the humaneness of Canada’s commercial seal hunt has improved.

Evidence showing that seals are not killed immediately or humanely in Canada’s commercial seal hunt has been documented this week, at the very same time Canadian officials overseas are heralding this year to be the most humane seal hunt ever.

We’ve seen seals shot at multiple times, writhing in their blood on the ice; seals being clubbed that are injured but clearly not killed on the first strike. And we’ve seen live, conscious seals stabbed with hooks, dragged across the ice and then hauled up on boats.

This sort of cruelty should not be tolerated anywhere in the world,” said Sheryl Fink, IFAW senior researcher and veteran seal hunt observer. “Once they see the evidence for themselves, it will be hard to convince Europeans that this hunt is anything other than inherently inhumane.”

Video evidence from the 2008 seal hunt clearly shows that the Canadian government’s new condition of licence is not being followed by sealers, nor is it being enforced by authorities.

“The Canadian Government can spin all the stories it wants in Europe, but our observations reveal the truth – no new condition of license will increase the humaneness of this hunt,” continued Fink. “The new rule is a sham, nothing has changed.”

“The highly-touted condition of licence was obviously meant to convince Europeans that things have improved here in Canada. Our videos show that the new condition is not being followed, and that the rule is not being enforced. The Canadian delegation in Europe must be having a hard time explaining this one,” added Fink.

Fink also said she was “disgusted” by the Canadian government’s insistence on confusing Canada’s commercial seal hunt with hunting by aboriginal peoples in Canada’s North.

“Inuit seal hunting and Canada’s commercial seal hunt are two completely different hunts, for different seals, in different places, at different times of the year.” said Fink. “This is a shameless attempt to play on the concerns of Europeans for aboriginal peoples, and to pass off the southern commercial hunt for fur coats as an Inuit hunt.”

Footage of the opening days of Canada’s commercial seal hunt is available at www.thenewsmarket.com/ifa w.

For media-related inquiries, contact:
Marie-France Lettre
Communications
IFAW Canada
613-241-3982 ext.225
613-355-3281
mlettre@ifaw.org

The video on this page shows the real seal hunt.

http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/ general/default...

Click on watch video on the right, watch BAer, Derek P, G.B. and J.K. hunting seals humanely.

Save Baby Seals: End the Seal Hunt

Each year, hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals are slaughtered on the ice fields off Canada's east coast for their pelts. Over 95% of the seals killed during this hunt are just days or weeks old.

If you were to witness this cruelty personally, your heart would break. Newborn seals skinned or bled alive ... clubbed to death ... or shot and left wounded to die under the ice.

In the past three years, nearly one million baby seals have been clubbed or shot to death. Shockingly, the hunt is subsidized by the Canadian government!

Please help us show the Canadian government the rest of the world will no longer stand for this inexcusable and senseless hunt.

Visit StoptheSealHunt.ca today to take action!
Join the largest growing community to end the seal hunt in the world.

The Biggest Seal Hunt in 50 Years
Canada's seal hunt is the largest deliberate slaughter of marine mammals in the world. More than 300,000 seal pups were killed last year by hunters before they reached three months of age. Speak out now.

Government Subsidized Cruelty
IFAW documents hundreds of examples of seal hunt cruelty each year, from seals being hooked and dragged across the ice while still alive for skinning, to others being shot in the water and dragged by hooks on to the ice, with no attempt made to check for consciousness.

Speak Out Against the Seal Hunt
Join others around the world in speaking out against the seal hunt. The sealing industry is counting on your silence. Tell Canada the world won't stand for such senseless cruelty any longer.

Seal Hunt Facts Canada Doesn't Want You to Know
Throughout the world, Canada is known and highly respected for its progressive systems of health care, education and values. The senseless cruelty of the seal hunt is one value they'd rather keep out of the world's eye. Here's the true story.

Take Action

300,000 Actions for 300,000 Seals

Visit StoptheSealHunt.ca to Take Action!

Download

(PDF)

Watch Video

See what really happens during the Canadian seal hunt

(opens in a new window)

Links

Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO) Meetings

http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/ general/default...

Barbaric Grey Seal Massacre Caught on Film

HALIFAX - Humane Society International/Canada today released footage documenting the slaughter of grey seals on Hay Island, Nova Scotia. The government of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans colluded to allow the hunt to take place on Hay Island, part of the protected Scaterie Island Wildlife Area, during the past two weeks.

(Media-Newswire.com) - HALIFAX — Humane Society International/Canada today released footage documenting the slaughter of grey seals on Hay Island, Nova Scotia. The government of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans colluded to allow the hunt to take place on Hay Island, part of the protected Scaterie Island Wildlife Area, during the past two weeks.

"In the 10 years I have observed commercial seal hunting in Canada, this was the most violent slaughter I have seen," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of animal programs for Humane Society International/Canada. "Sealers herded the pups into groups, clubbed the moulted pups with wooden bats and cut them open with box cutters. One of the most heartbreaking images was the mothers trying to put themselves between their babies and the sealers."

Representatives from Humane Society International/Canada and the Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition reached the island by inflatable, filming the slaughter at close range.

The controversial decision to open Hay Island to seal hunters followed intensive lobbying of the federal and provincial government from the fishing industry, which claims grey seals are inhibiting recovery of some fish stocks.

Under the Wilderness Areas Protection Act, the Nova Scotia Minister of Environment can only allow hunting on Hay Island if it is proven it will aid in the restoration of indigenous biodiversity of the protected area. However, neither the DFO nor the Nova Scotia government have offered any evidence that grey seals negatively impact the ecology of Hay Island or fish stocks in surrounding waters.

"The fishing industry is trying to use grey seals as a scapegoat for its own destructive fishing practices," said Aldworth. "But Canadian government scientists have confirmed over-fishing, not seals, is responsible for fish stock depletion in the northwest Atlantic. The decision to turn this nature preserve into an open-air slaughter house is a betrayal of every citizen of Nova Scotia."

By 1949, the grey seal population was considered extirpated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as a direct result of commercial hunting. In recent years, the population has slowly begun to recover. While the DFO has attempted to position this slow recovery as an increase in the population, grey seals numbers are still very low.

"This is just more evidence of the depths to which the DFO will sink to appease fishing industry interests. But with international boycotts of Canadian seafood steadily gaining momentum because of commercial seal hunting, it is the fishermen who will ultimately pay the price," said Aldworth.

http://www.sealhunt.ca/

http://www.sealhunt.ca/

Europe Move May End Seal Slaughter
Ian Woods
Sky News
in Prince Edward Island, Canada
Updated:15:20, Tuesday March 25, 2008

March 25, 2008: The European Union is on the verge of an import ban that could help end the hugely controversial Canadian seal hunt, according to animal welfare groups.

Every year, more than 250,000 harp seals are slaughtered by hunters armed with clubs and rifles.

Animal welfare groups have mounted a long campaign to stop the commercial hunt, and this year they believe they are close to getting an EU-wide ban on seal products.

Experts say this could do the trick, as Canada would no longer be able to ship seal pelts through European ports to major markets in China and Russia.

This year, however, 275,000 seals will be killed - the Canadians say it will not threaten the population of up to six million, and argue that sealing is an important part of the local economy.

The seals are born in March. For the first few weeks of their lives they are nurtured by their mothers, and it is against the law to hunt them.

Sealing is bashing in the head of a baby seal to make a living. The sealer has no way if the seal is dead or just stunned and skins a large proportion of them while ther are still alive. A sealer uses a high powered rifle so the bullet won't ruin the pelt when it exists. Often the bullet misses a vital organ and the sealer skins an unconscious seal. Sealers also use hakipiks because they don't ruin the pelt. Often the seals are only rendered unconscious and the seals are skinned alive. The Telegraph showed sealers in 2008 killing baby white seals. The page has been changed but many people on this board saw that the seals were baby white seals. They showed the trail of blood a sealer made as he ran back to skin the baby seal. In the tape the sealer bashed the baby seal four or five times with a hakipic and then used the hakipik as a hook to drag the baby seal to the boat. Even though the tape shows clearly that the sealer skinned a baby white seal, Fisheries and Oceans did nothing to locate this sealer.

IS FISHERIES AND OCEANS TELLING US THE TRUTH?

Newfoundlanders say that there is a quoata for seals in place and it is enforced, is that true? On the other hand Newfoundlanders say you don't need a license or tag to hunt seals. How can both be true? If it's true then Fisheries and Oceans don't require some sort of licence or tag then how do they keep track how many seals have been killed? But Newfoundlanders have said it over and over again -- you don't need a license to hunt seals. That leaves ONE possiblity, if Fisheries and Oceans does not require a license or tag to hunt seas then Fisheries and Oceans are NOT enforcing their own quotas. If Fisheries and Oceans do not have officials waiting on the docks to count pelts, then they are not enforcing their own quoatas. Not one seal killer said that a Fisheries or Oceans Offical counted the number of pelts on their ship. If Newfoundlanders say they need a PAL to buy ammunition but they don't need a PAL to hunt seals, then how are they killing them? The only way is by clubbing them to death. Then there is the ramming of the Farley Mowatt. The video clearly shows that the Fisheries and Oceans ship was the port ship. Port ship gives way to Starboard. That's the law. The video show that the Fisheries and Ocean Ship overtook the Farley Mowatt. Overtaking ship avoids the ship being overtaken. That's the law. In every way Fisheries and Oceans own claims fail to stand up. No proof is offered except the proof that the Fisheries and Oceans ship violated Maritime law when it rammed the Farley Mowatt. If there is quota, where is the count of the number of pelts on each ship? How are the quotas apportioned among seal killers? The only logical conclusion is that Fisheries and Oceans had no intention of enforcing their quotas from day one. The only conclusion is that if Fisheries and Oceans are not doing a pelt count then neither are Fisheries and Oceans inspecting the colour of the pelts. They have not set up any way to consitantly monitor whether or not the seals killed are the white baby seals. Fisheries and Oceans is great at pounding itself on the chest and congratulating themselves that they are enforcing the rules. What they have not done is shown exactly how they are enforcing their own rules. Fisheries and Oceans has not demonstrated that they have any efficent or effective process in place whatsoever. If they do it must be invisible. No one can tell us what it is. Is Fisheries and Oceans telling us the truth or reliable facts about the seal hunt? No.

Although presented in satire, my first post was meant to address the issue of why seal hunting is so much worse than farming other animals. If it’s the method of killing, could someone please explain why it is worse than how other animals are slaughtered? If it’s that seals are intelligent (an argument often used when talking of eating dolphin, for example), please justify eating pork. Wesley, my original comments were largely addressed to Deborah, who took the hypocritical standpoint that eating meat is okay but killing seals is not. The only possible reason I can see for such an outcry comes from celebrity-led heartmelting propaganda. Seals are cute… end of story. There is no other reason to attack this industry moreso than any other food-animal industry. I guess my point is that I don’t see why everyone is taking the seal hunt to heart. No one threatened to boycott countries that murder cows for food. Also, the consistent comments that baby seals are killed are unjustified. I’m sure, as with any industry, that there are individuals who do… but that is in no way justification to condemn the entire industry. There have been no studies to quantitate this, and for any individual to say they know this to be absolutely true is outright silly. I have worked with veterinarians who have personally monitored the seal hunt. The findings were that the majority of seals are killed by acceptable means, although there is room for improvement. Remember that most varieties of animal husbandry are similar. Here’s a link for anyone willing to read something peer-reviewed and backed up with actual evidence rather than emotion and hearsay.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.g ov/pubmed/12240...

"Newfoundlanders say you don't need a license or tag to hunt seals."

Who said this? You absolutely need a licence to hunt seals. What was said is that you don't need a hunting licence to buy ammunition, and this is a fact.

I said earlier that you need to go back to social studies class, but I'm thinking you're going to need an english tutor for your reading comprehension as well, kid.

GB, Derek, Mike, JK, Whos Y and others: Jokes on us, I guess. Here, we've been debating with this kid who obviously knows nothing about this issue. As a matter of fact, he's not even reading the points that are made in black and white in front of him. Time to move on toward more worthy opponents, I think!

Still waiting for pictures of sealers selling white coats that were clubbed to foreign vessels in international waters...