I wonder how much people would be up in arms over the hunt if the seals were not so cute… or if there was not so much blood spilt on that pretty white ice.
The truth is that there is a lot of miss-information about the hunt.
Most Canadians can recall pictures of whitecoated seal pups being clubbed. The images were so inflammatory that Canada banned all hunting of whitecoats 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. But the reality is that whitecoats can’t be hunted anymore.
Hmmm… they really are not as cute as the animal welfare people make them out to be.
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.
Hmmm… maybe the hunt is not as cruel as some people describe it. These are tricks to make your emotions get the better of you. Whether you believe in the seal hunt or not, how cute the animals are should not be a factor.
Where is the outrage for the millions of fish that suffocate on the decks of fishing vessels? or what about the slaughter of cows? or pigs? or lamb? or the countless other un-cute animals slaughtered each day?
What are the ethics of only protecting the cute animals?
What is important is the sustainability of the seal hunt, and the effects it has on the ecosystem. Lets limit the debate to those issues; lets make good informed decisions on this issue based on the best unbiased data, without bringing emotional baggage to the table.
For the record I have never worn seal fur… but it probably is very warm.
For the record I hunt seal, have worn seal skin clothing, and am fairly partial to fresh seal meat. I wonder if the save these people have checked into how chickens fare at KFC before they get turned into a Family Fun Bucket? There is something to get wound up about.
Animal Welfare Activists are not only concerned about “cute” animals. There are millions of people in the world who are vegetarians on moral grounds. The focus today is seals, tomorrow chicken and cattle.
While it is extremely difficult to be vegetarian, the least we can do as a civilized society is to conduct our preying in a humane way. This is the goal of Animal protection agencies as I understand it.
Whereas it can be argued that we need animal protein in our diet, the hunting of any animal for trophy or for fur is undefendable.
Actually for fur is quite defendable. Why go an unnatural route to stay warm in northern climates, when furs have kept us alive for millenia that way?
I am sure you can provide plenty of examples of this, but as far as I can tell the cute animals get MUCH more importance than the none-cute animals. This is not to say that none-cute animals are completely ignored; they just get much less attention. The very fact that we and so many others are talking about the seal hunt provides support for this argument. When was the last time celebrities pleaded for the humane treatment of fish?
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But there are millions more that are opposed to the seal hunt that DO eat meat from factory farms. Why the double standard?
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The seal hunt is humane.
that was from the CBC page linked above in the post. The vast majority of seals are killed in a humane fashion. The animal welfare groups may be exaggerating and misrepresenting their claims on this issue, just as they do by showing the cute whitecoat seal which ARE NOT ALLOWED to be hunted. These are ploys to get people emotionally involved, so that reasonable arguments tend to be left at the wayside.
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Look at websites such as http://www.stopthesealhunt.ca/ a site owned and run by the IFWA. These sites have few facts, but plenty of emotional garbage. Lets stick to the facts. They even outright lie:
As you can see from the CBC quote above the Canadian Veterinary Journal found that the seal hunt was humane. Unless of course the Canadian Veterinary Journal does not qualify as a “reputable “expert” or “veterinary group””.
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many of the seals are not used for for trophies, but also for their meat and fur. Fur clothing can be more environmentally friendly than clothing made from polyester (fleece) and nylon (most jackets). Polyester and nylon both are made from petroleum, which is not renewable, while fur is made from a renewable resource.
I have no problem with the seal hunt, as long as it is conducted in a sustainable fashion, that has minimal negative effects on the ecosystem.
well im from canada, Newfoundland actually.
& i dont eat seal meat, or fish…and rarely eat any meat. But im not against the sealhunt.
I dont think these vegetarians should be trying to tell us how to live. They dont like it, they dont have to live here. Kathy Kangas, from florida, sent a letter to Stephen harper (prime minister) offereing $16 million to stop the seal hunting & fishing industry here
(which is estimated to be valued at $40million),
and to start a tourisum where people can “pet the seals”, claiming it would be “the largest nursery in the world.”
she offered to pay the sealhunters 3x as much what they getting now. But she honestly doesnt even know the facts. If she’s getting her info from stopthesealhunt.com than she certainly doesnt know them, babyseals arent clubbed, its illegal. And when she tried to bash us for using seals as furs, someone called her up on it, giving her a list of what fish & seals are used for. She was surprised when they said FOOD. yes, people eat seals. she didnt know that? maybe she should have gotten some info on it before running her mouth. People use fish oils, & seals oils for all kinds of things. Maybe her cosmetics arent tested on animals, but im sure her lipstick she wears has fish oils in it? Hairspray or sparkles, have fish oils. If they ever stopped the sealhunt, there would be a whole new boat of problems.
Im sure if you gave her a map,she wouldnt be able to point out Newfoundland on a map. And i think it is about the whole “cute” thing. She would be so fast as to cuddle up to a chicken now would she? I doubt it. And if she wants to talk about us killing seals, lets write her a letter about Bush, he is killing people. But we are not protesting about that. Why? cause its not our business, and we dont have any right to tell anyone what to do.
PS: not killing seals does hurt the cod industry. Seals eat cod, they only tear them open & eat the liver & thats all. If you dont tame the seal population they would destroy the entire species of cod which is already at a low point. Its just going to kill of one species for another.
This is part of newfoundland heritage, its my roots & im proud of where i came from. Not saying i agree, but…its what makes us, Us. And its fine for her or anyone else to come in & b*tch on it, cause its not a personal root for her, but for maybe newfoundlanders, we are proud of where we come from, and we are not about to let anyone from FLORIDA or anywhere else tell us how to live.
I wonder how petting the seals will affect them, mothers might abandon their babies if they are surrounded by tourists.
Has anyone making comments for the hunt and using the 2002 Vet Report actually taken the time to read it? There are 11 recommendaitons to make the hunt more humane. In fact the authours of this report have publically stated that the DFO is miscontruing there findings and framing it in a way to defend the seal hunt. Animals are being killed for high fashion luxury items. Sure there are Inuit and a few Newfoundlanders who are actually using the fur to keep warm, but that is not who activists are campigning against. Subsistence hunting is different. They are against seal pelts being used to make lamp shades and pocket books by Prada and Versace.
And yes 10% of seals are clubbed the rest are shot which as just as bad, if not worse. They fall in to the ocean and take hours to die. Look at the footage.
Yes there are many other animal welfare issues and human welfare issues too. Most activist fight against these as well and no we do not have leather shoes or eat meat. I know where my food comes from and how the animals that I do take products from (i.e. occasional bit of cheese) are treated. I visit the farms to make sure. I also work on spreading awareness about human rights issues. But we must chose are battles. No one can do everything. Get Real. Stating that there are other issues so this one is no big deal is just a diversionary tactic used by those who are too lazy to truly look into the issues and the independent, academic literature that has been written about the seal hunt. I am sure slave owners thought it was better to own people because there were other people in the world going hungry. Two wrongs make a right is a logical fallcy.
I think the key difference is that those who want these animals protect see that animals have inherent value. Value in themselves and the right to live and die without our domination. Those for the hunt see animals for their intrumental value. In other words, animals are only valuable if they have a use. I have chosen to extend my moral conciousness to other things as humans have done in the past i.e. other tribes, races, and women who were all oppressed at one time.
There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher animals in their mental faculties… The lower animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness, and misery.
-Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
No it is not humane to club a seal to death just so some idiot can have a soft coat. To many seals, china has 1.3 bil people. Why don’t we go over there and club them to death? This was not gods intent when he made these beautiful creatures. We will suffer for all the pain we’ve inflicted upon earths animals. I truly believe that
@ Kristin
First of all there is much more to it that fur coats, if that is what you think this is about then you really haven’t educated yourself on the issue.
Secondly, are you suggesting that we club some of the 1.3 billion Chinese people? I really hope I am reading that wrong.
Thirdly, exactly how is the seal hunt any more inhumane than factory farms that produce most of our food?
And finally how to you know what is god’s (if he even exists) intent regarding these seals?
I think all of you are the 1% of canaians that agree with the salughter!!! but it´s true that farming isnt any better