The past three years VFR has kindly published my comments about Canada’s barbaric slaughter every spring of several hundred thousand baby seal pups, many only a few weeks old. The icy water runs red with their blood. This heinous moral crime, the worst slaughter of marine mammals on earth, is committed by fishermen from the Atlantic coast, who club and shoot the pups, sometimes skinning them alive and tossing living pups into heaps of the dead. They sell the pups’ fur to manufacturers of seal garments in Europe, who have markets in Russia and China. This trade has been banned in the United States, Mexico, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Italy and other countries, and the EU has begun taking steps toward a complete ban, which hopefully wound be enough end the horror.
In the United States, there is a widespread boycott of Canadian fish, which has cost Canada hundreds of millions of dollars per year. Trade Joe’s, Whole Foods and Legal Sea Foods are among the participants in the boycott, which includes 3,500 restaurants and 618,000 persons who have signed the boycott pledge.
Some VFR readers have noted that a humane issue like this, and the torture of more than ten million dogs and cats each year in China and South Korea (which supposedly makes them “taste” better), should interest conservatives, whose understanding of human evil is an important foundation of conservative philosophy. Further, it is noteworthy that a left-wing country like Canada, under both its leading political parties, actively assists the “hunt.” It does not enforce its government “hunting” regulations, has obstructed the efforts of Humane Society observers to document atrocities and denied them observation permits, and on one occasion its police watched an attempt by a fishing boat to sink outside observers, then arrested the observers. So much for the rule of law in Canada, which by this long-standing slaughter forfeits any claim to be a civilized Western nation.
Readers interested in more information and who wish to convey their views to the Canadian authorities should consult the attached links from the Humane Society, which is a non-partisan, charitable organization.
Live from the Ice: Rebecca’s Journal
No Escape for Seal Pups
April 11, 2008—10:30 p.m.
The ProtectSeals team flew through heavy fog, high winds, and blowing snow to reach the sealing vessels. Eleven were still trapped in the ice floes, a Coast Guard icebreaker nearby attempting to cut a path for them. For a moment we dared to hope the seals were still safe.
But farther north, we found more boats working their way through the ice, killing every seal pup in their wake. As we passed one large red vessel, we saw sealers jump off the side onto the ice.
They ran towards a single live seal pup, hakapiks in hand.
The pup, sensing danger, tried desperately to crawl towards the edge of the water. But the two men bearing down on her were faster. One sealer struck her on the side, then twice again on the head. He grabbed her hind flippers and pulled her back across the ice, stopping to club her twice more. He grabbed her front flipper and turned her over.
But then the second sealer kicked the wounded pup with his boot.
Seeing a reaction, he motioned to the first sealer, who clubbed her four more times on the head. Not to be outdone, the second sealer grabbed his hakapik and clubbed the baby seal once more.
He flipped her over and began to cut her open—only to roll her back over so the first sealer could club her three more times. This poor baby seal was clubbed thirteen times in total.
The sealers finally sliced open the pup, then dragged her the long distance back to the boat. On board the vessel, they cut out her carcass and threw it overboard. We watched miserably from our helicopters, helpless to do anything to stop her suffering.
This was a brutal scene—and one that I have witnessed too many times in the ten years I have been out here documenting the slaughter. Tomorrow, we go back to document the second day of the hunt for seals in the Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Please stand with us as we gather the evidence we need to shut this brutal slaughter down forever.
Read more: https://community.hsus.org/ct/N1aWhPd1MRTR/
What You Can Do
Watch the Slideshow:
If you haven’t already, urge Canadian Minister of International Trade David Emerson to end the seal hunt: ?
To tell the EU that you strongly support a total ban on trade in seal products, please sign our petition here: ?
WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO
This is a critical time for our campaign, and we need your help to keep the world’s attention focused on ending the seal hunt!
Here are a few more things that you can do:
::Spread the word about the seal hunt by posting our web badges or banners to your Facebook page or favorite blogs. Click here.
:: Another great way to show your support for seals is to make a humane fashion statement by wearing Nigel Barker’s hip new Save Me Seal Tee. Click here.
:: Get even more creative by downloading desktop wallpaper and other cool stuff here to spread the word online. Click here.
Mark P. writes: