Canada's seal hunt to continue in April

Seals in Canada got a reprieve today, as ice kept sealing boats from reaching them to continue the annual hunt in progress in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

There is a possibility that the boats will go out tomorrow, if winds shift the ice enough.

Otherwise, the gruesome scene will begin anew in April, off the shores of Quebec and the west coast of the island of Newfoundland. At least 50,000 pups will be targeted during this phase.

The hunt then moves to off the northeast coast of Newfoundland, where more than 175,000 seals are expected to be killed.

The slaughter is brutal, with pups being clubbed to death or shot first and then finished off by clubbing. The mammals are skinned and their carcasses are left behind.

While some scavengers may take advantage of the glut of available food, most of the carcasses are left to decompose.

The Canadian government set a quota of 338,000 seals as the allowable catch for the hunt, an increase of 55,000 from last year.

-- Kelly Burgess

Photo from The Humane Society of the United States

Comments

[amrit]

That's pretty good that the seals in Canada got a reprieve today.
Some 10,000,000,000 animals are killed commercially to fulfill Americans appetites every year. It's all very legal and well accepted. Did any of those get a reprieve today?
Americans only seem to be concerned about giving an animal a reprieve if it's one that they don't eat or wear.

[confucius]

Amrit, I'm not going to defend some of the things that are happening in the US because I believe that there are lots of things that happen here because of greed. But what the seal hunters are doing is also wrong and for the purpose of greed.

We should be able to hunt and fish whatever we want and when we want. But we should also be responsible. Take what you need, but also give back to nature to ensure balance. It's called respect.

[confucius]

Wow... Just saw some video from humane society.

http://www.hsus.org

Video speaks for itself.

[Luke Thomas]

People scream bloody murder about the seals, but did you know, in American farm factories, this stuff goes on ALL THE TIME-do you honestly think killing an animal for the lust for MEAT is "humane"? How about being boiled alive. Happens to chickens and turkeys-that are animals-intelligent birds-routinely. What about cows? I even know PIGS are kicked, punched, stomped on-even tied up still alive and BOILED ALIVE. They shoot them in the jaw with pellets and the pig SCREAMS, running in circles screaming in horrible AGONY because this intelligent and sweet (far more intelligent than dogs) is being tortured to death. Nobody-NOBODY-cares!. The farm factory workers look and laugh about it. This REALLY HAPPENS all over America. Because farm factory workers HATE their filthy low paying jobs so they take it out on the animals. Yet people eat their pork and hamburgers and don't think anything about it. How these seals died is NOTHING compared to the agony farm factory animals endure including living in feces and urine-eating, sleeping and breathing in fumes so horrid it burns their lungs-getting clubbed is far kinder than the life of a farm factory animal. You all are pure hypocrites.

[amrit]

Thanks Confucius, that's so nice of you to pass judgment on people you don't know anything about. I guess providing a living for your family is greed in your book?
Please post some video of animals being killed in American slaughterhouses; let's see how nice that looks.

[Marsha MacHardy-Fagnani]

Thank you for publishing this article. Yes, agree with some other commentors about animals killed in slaughterhouses is not pretty either. The BIG difference here is that the commercial seal slaughter is primarily for seal skins/fur used for clothing items. The Canadian Native hunts are totally different; they TRULY use all of the animal.

These seals are shot and/or clubbed to death as soon as they start losing their white fur; about two weeks old. It is horrific, barbaric and sick. It seems to be a minority of people/area that hunt seals in the off-season. Their regular occupation is fishing. From what I understand, the Canadian government would be ahead of the game if they just paid these fishermen/part-time sealers directly. The Canadian government spends an enormous amount of money on justifying this hunt.

The fish have been depleted by humans; over fishing. Killing seals for "population control" just does not make sense. The manner in which these mammals are killed is brutal. No real watchdogs other than activists "observing" and filming what they can so the world can see what's happening.

When the market closes for seal pelts hopefully then killing seals will not be worth anything. No MONEY...

One of the comments talks about pigs and factory farms. So right; animal torture should not be tolerated either.

[confucius]

It's funny how those who defend the seal hunt ALWAYS point the finger at American farm and say look at what they're doing, it's worse that what we do.

Amrit, I am truly sorry if I offended you by passing judgment on people who bash baby seals for a living. But I can't help it after watching some of the videos. May I suggest you go back to trade school and provide a living for your family by other means? I'm sure if they are healthy enough to jump around and kill seals, they are healthy enough for other physical labor jobs.

And yes, there are videos of American slaughter houses at the humane society website. They are not just picking on Canadians.

And by the way, I am no animal activist. Just an individual trying to make a difference in the world. Live a peaceful life and do the right things.

[Luke Thomas]

I have a few choice videos how American farm factory workers-beat a pig for over an hour and she screamed in agony-and it sounded very human. The workers laughed and thought it entertaining. A pig hung by the neck with a chain-hoisted up with a fork lift. It took 20 minutes for her to die. A pig kicked by farm factory worker, and then jumped on her body until her guts came out of both ends. Turkeys and chickens hung upside down, still flapping-their legs broken-and dunked in boiling water until dead. Imagine how much that hurts. Turkeys kicked like footballs and stomped on until guts come out both ends. Pigs tied up, legs bound on poles-and boiled alive. And don't forget in Chino, California what they did to those downer cows-you know,that has been going on for years. Now talk to me about clubbing a seal to death compared to the life of a farm factory animal. Born in a cage, never able to turn around-and these farm factory animals are INTELLIGENT-living in feces and urine. And everyday it's the same, kept alive with low dose antibiotics-to stay alive in urine and feces and cramped quarters. A chicken lives its entire life in a wire cage-no larger than a sheet of paper.

This is VERY routine in all farm factories across America. Now seals are born in the wild-life and experience fresh air-and some are killed-but it's better than being boiled alive or beaten for over an hour or hung by the neck and takes 20 minutes to die.

[Luke Thomas]

Americans are hypocrites to say stuff about the seal hunt when their hands are not lilly white.
AMERICANS LOVE TO BREED cats and dogs (purebreds) and fight any kind of spay/neuter legislation-tooth and nail that merely asks them to require a license to breed to address overpopulation. Americans say they have a right to do what they want with their pets, and breed as much as they want and the law makers all agree and basically say BREED, BABY, BREED!!

Meanwhile the "inferior" breeds, that is, mixed breeds, get thrown out in the streets or dumped in the pound. This is the "humanity" with American dog and cat owners-THERE IS NONE. Have you ever seen an American dog pound-these poor animals are frightened and terrified and KNOW they are going to die-OR GET SOLD FOR HIDEOUS EXPERIMENTS WHICH IS LEGAL, AND IT IS LEGAL FOR THESE "RESEARCHERS" TO EVEN POUR BATTERY ACID ON THEIR EYES to see the effects of sulferic acid on their eyes, or cut them open alive, or bore holes in their brain while their head is in a vice-to attach electrodes to see which switch makes them feel pain or pleasure. Real hideous stuff just like a genuine Nazi concentration camp.

SO WHAT ABOUT DOGS AND CATS? Did you know countless MILLIONS are homeless in each state? Did you know over 30 million dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are GASSED to death to stabbed in the heart with a needle to kill it. Bodies PILED HIGH. Gassing to death is not pleasant. They throw them in a small room and they all know they are going to die and they scream in terror. Then the car exhaust fumes are pumped in. THE DOGS AND CATS - YOU KNOW HOW THEY DIE??? THEY LITERALLY CHOKED TO DEATH ON THEIR OWN VOMIT while their bodies convulse. WHen the dog or cat is elderly or pregnant, it will take sometimes up to SEVERAL GAS SESSIONS before kind death happens. Some animals are in a coma and STILL ALIVE and they are thrown in garbage dumpsters, buried alive in the county dump yard like trash.

It costs America over a billion dollars to kill their dogs and cats every year so breeders can keep on breeding - of course these mixed and shelter breeds are totally ignored.

So I say ignore the seal hunt. If WE AMERICAN can destroy countless millions of cats and dogs, and throw animals out in homelessness and our law makers say OHH SURE BREED, BABY, BREED! WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO CRITICIZE CANADA. WE ARE JUST AS BAD-no, even worse.

THE HYPOCRISY IS NAUSEATING AND DISGUSTING. Grow up America-look at your own dirty laundry before criticizing another country.

Seal hunt-BIG DEAL-visit your dog pounds and get horrified because it's real. Oh but they don't matter, do they and your law makers all say-NO SPAY/NEUTER LAWS--BREED, BABY BREED!!
LET'S KEEP THE DOG POUNDS FILLED AND KEEP THE GAS CHAMBERS FULLY PRIMED!! AND KILL THOSE DOGS, CATS, KITTENS AND PUPPIES AND PILE THEM BY THE TON IN DUMP YARDS.

By the way, California spent $250 MILLION dollars in one year to kill dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens. MILLIONS of them.

The seal hunt is TRIVIAL in comparson...BREED BABY BREED THOSE CATS AND DOGS-your law makers say. Sick.

[Tony]

THIS IS CANADA'S SHAME! How can a civilized country such as Canada condone a practice that is so barbaric and so brutal decimating these gentle creatures this way? How can the US stand pat and let this continue without applying any pressure to this government that what they are doing is plain wrong? How can anyone sleep at night knowing this is going on? Come on, people! Wake up and show some mercy. I urge the Canadian government and other governing bodies to stop this evil way and put a stop to this once and for all. It is not too late. Just because past government allowed this shameful act to continue doesn't mean it is okay to let it go on. Enough is enough. STOP THIS BRUTAL KILLING of these gentle creatures. Heed their cries...the mother cries, the pups...They are asking for mercy and stoppage to this. IS ANYONE OUT THERE LISTENING???

[MIA MANIFOLD]

The comments already posted are basically ignorant rhetoric, all animal slaughter is disgraceful , but if humans have to kill animals for food, then let it be done humanely. The way baby seals are butchered is extreme and hideous. Some of the killers of baby seals are denying the seals are "babies" like , hello .....we all have witnessed footage of the sickening base bararbic way in which these poor innocent babies have been bludgeoned to death, what a vile nasty vicious way to die. I thought Asia was pretty bad with their depraved bear farms and those cretins who make bears dance and the other brain dead mongrols who delight in the fun sport of 'bear baiting" but Canada is meant to be civilised isn't it ???? the white fur of baby seals being used for some arrogant pathetic so called human being who wants a fur coat .. fur is becoming obsolete, people dont wear it apart from a few rednecks in Canada and a few feral movie stars & no hopers who have nothing better to do with their money . Fur is not an aceptable fabric for clothing these days, its sick to think that some brainless bimbo wants a fur coat when synthetic fur is available and just as warm, just as snythetic bile is readily available for Asians who have the misguided notion that bear bile is an aphrodisiac, like hello !!! why the hell would Asians need that ? they breed like rabbits as it is. The Canadian seal hunt is deplorable in the extreme, its horrible, its sickening, its abhorrent. . and the people who kill these baby seals, what sort of brutal psychopaths are they ???? how can anyone in their right mind smash in the skull of tiny seal when its distraught mother is looking on ?????. .. Canada you are sickening. Australia would not allow this in a billion years .. . oh and guess what ? polar bears eat seals and they are starving !!!! you stupid dumb ignorant people, you are "culling" baby seals to satisfy the desires of some stupid ignrorant women who want a fur coat . . what the hell is wrong with Canada? I can understand atrocious cruelty taking place in Asia because they are basically uneducated and a cruel race , they have always been cruel, but a western so called civilised nation ? Canada? you bring shame upon the world by this base cruelty. I have read arguments ie. .. what else would they do .. . well if you have at least one neuron then move. . go where the jobs are, work in a factory, so anything rather than butcher seals. The blood tinged ice and the killers who have to be sociopaths to do this, will have blood on their hands for the rest of their miserable lives, how can these people sleep at night. Before anyone attacks me for kangaroo culling, we do it humanely, one shot to the head and it doesnt happen often. Sarah Palin is another blood thirsty reneck loser, this type should be weeded out and replaced people who are not mentally unhinged. All the excuses on the Gulf of St Lawrence website .. . they need jobs, its no worse than cattle killing, they need culling, they breed like rabbits, they eat the fish ,.. . . .what utter rubbish .,. in the chain of life every species controls all other species by eating them, they do it naturally, not shot down by helicoptor..Alaskan style,. ., or bludgeoned to death Canadian style. . I hope and pray that this heinous crime of slaughtering baby seals will be outlawed ASAP , and the killers have nightmares for the rest of their lives, although I somehow doubt they will , they are sociopaths and sociopaths dont have a conscience.. Mia Manifold, Australia.

[MIA MANIFOLD]

QUOTE LUKE THOMAS "

Then the car exhaust fumes are pumped in. THE DOGS AND CATS - YOU KNOW HOW THEY DIE??? THEY LITERALLY CHOKED TO DEATH ON THEIR OWN VOMIT while their bodies convulse. WHen the dog or cat is elderly or pregnant, it will take sometimes up to SEVERAL GAS SESSIONS before kind death happens. Some animals are in a coma and STILL ALIVE and they are thrown in garbage dumpsters, buried alive in the county dump yard like trash."

UNQUOTE

So how do you know this as fact Luke ?have you seen animals die this way ? REGARDLESS. .. WE ARE NOT DISCUSSING THE WAY OTHER ANIAMALS ARE KILLED, ALL ANIMAL SLAUGHTER IS UNACCEPTABLE, WHY DO YOU PEOPLE JUSTIFY THE SEAL MASSACRE BY STATING HOW ALL OTHER ANIMALS DIE ????
THIS THREAD IS ABOUT THE CANADIAN SEAL SLAUGHTER.. . A CRUEL BARBARIC UNNESSARY SLAUGHTER FOR WHAT EXACTLY? FUR COATS ? YOU AMERICAN & CANADIAN PEOPLE SHOULD TRY AND GET OVER YOUR VAIN & SELFISH DEMAND AND DESIRE FOR MATERIAL POSSESSIONS AT THE EXPENSE OF INNOCENT ANIMALS. HOW BLOODY ARROGANT !!!!!
MIA MANIFOLD
AUSTRALIA.

[MIA MANIFOLD]

In my opinion Luke Thomas, no one should eat meat. We should all become vegetarians.We dont need the fur as I said before, fur is obsolete and synthetic fur is just as warm, meat gives us heart disease and cancer, meat sits in the colon and causes disease, meat is full of fat and bad for our hearts and cardiovascular system, meat causes bowel cancer..what is good about meat ? throw a few prawns on the barbie and some vegetables, learn to eat fruit and vegetables and free range eggs, meat is not needed in our diet , we dont need it !!!Let nature do the culling the way nature has been doing it for millions of years before greedy materialistic unhinged humans started interfering.

Grow your own vegetables and you can grow them in a terracotta pot on a verandah .. ( balcony) .. people do not need meat! I was born into a well known family of mountain cattle breeders, a 170 year dynasty, and I am sickened every time I see blood dripping from a piece of meat .. . . ANIMALS THINK AS WE DO, ANIMALS REASON, ANIMALS FEEL PAIN AND ANGUISH AND LOVE AND FEAR AND SORROW AND THEY MOURN AS WE DO. . . THEY HAVE SOCIAL NETWORKS AND CLOSE KNIT FAMILIES, DOLPHINS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO SAVE AUSSSIE SWIMMERS FROM SHARKS ON THE AUSTRALIAN COAST, THIS IS DOCUMENTED.
TAKE A LOOK AT CHRISTIAN THE LION .. . THE LOVE THIS LION HAD FOR HIS CARERS. .. AND TELL ME THAT ANIMALS DONT FEEL THE EXACT SAME EMOTIONS AS WE DO. . . THEY COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER .,. WHALES COMMUNICATE, ALL ANIMALS COMMUNICATE. . AND THEY ARE A PART OF OUR FAMILY. ANIMAL KILLERS ARE TWISTED SICK PEOPLE WHO GET THEIR ROCKS OFF BY SEEING PAIN AND INFLICTING TORTUOUS SUFFERING.
EDUCATE YOURSELF LUKE AND ALL OTHERS WHO AGREE WITH ANIMAL BRUTALITY.
MIA MANIFOLD
AUSTRALIA.

[Bridget]

To those suggesting that the seal hunt should be allowed to continue because factory farming and breeding animals is also cruel, you really should change the record. That lame justification to allow the obscene practice known as the commercial seal hunt to continue has been used by the pro-sealing camp for a long time and is completely illogical.

I agree that factory farming is horrific, and no animals should be bred while homeless animals are dying in shelters (and not just cats and dogs, either, but all species of animals), but that does not mean that we should let sealers continue killing seals. Ignore one evil industry simply because others exist? Illogical. We should strive to abolish all cruel industries. For many, that begins with seals.

Equally illogical is the argument that people want to save seals simply because they are cute and therefore are hypocrites. Many advocating for seals advocate for all species. It is my opinion that the true hypocrites are the ones who support the seal hunt. While they parrot the justifications put forth by the corrupt Canadian government and sealing industry, they would be horrified if it were kittens and puppies being clubbed, shot and skinned alive by the sealers. Luke Thomas is a case in point. He recommends we ignore the horrific seal hunt simply because of the horrific deaths cats and dogs suffer due to over-population. [What about the horrific death rats and mice suffer in shelters, also the fault of breeders? You don't seem too concerned with them.] Why ignore one issue? Why not tackle both issues, Luke, and work toward solutions that benefit all species? Because quite frankly I doubt you give a toss about cats and dogs; you've simply latched on to their suffering to deflect attention away from the seal hunt issue.

And let's get this straight - it's not just "Americans" opposed to the seal hunt. Polling consistently shows the majority of Canadians are opposed to the commercial seal hunt. Many people in the very region the killing occurs are opposed to the cruel hunt and object to their tax dollars being spent to subsidize and defend it. The Canadian government should be listening to its own citizens, banning this obscene practice and implementing viable alternatives for those currently involved in the sealing industry, including a license buyback program.

http://www.antisealingcoalition.ca

[MIA MANIFOLD]

" Equally illogical is the argument that people want to save seals simply because they are cute and therefore are hypocrites. Many advocating for seals advocate for all species. It is my opinion that the true hypocrites are the ones who support the seal hunt. While they parrot the justifications put forth by the corrupt Canadian government and sealing industry, they would be horrified if it were kittens and puppies being clubbed, shot and skinned alive by the sealers. Luke Thomas is a case in point. He recommends we ignore the horrific seal hunt simply because of the horrific deaths cats and dogs suffer due to over-population. [What about the horrific death rats and mice suffer in shelters, also the fault of breeders? You don't seem too concerned with them.] Why ignore one issue? Why not tackle both issues, Luke, and work toward solutions that benefit all species? Because quite frankly I doubt you give a toss about cats and dogs; you've simply latched on to their suffering to deflect attention away from the seal hunt issue. " UNQUOTE.

Thats it in a nutshell. Dont try and divert attention away from the seal slaughter Luke by mentioning cats, dogs, cows, etc...all animal lovers and liberationists care for all animals who are suffering on this planet. The Canadian government is corrupt to the core to allow and condone such wicked senseless depravity, that of torturing baby seals .. shame upon the Canadian government , you have no morals you have no compassion, you are evil and barbaric. What exactly does the Canadian governemnt get out of this 'cull' ? the seals bodies/carcass is left behind, unlike the native Indians who use the entire animal and only kill when necessary, these crazed psycho killers take the fur only . .why ? coats ? accessories?? fashionable is it ? amongst the dumb , the shallow the stupid ? ? seal fur as apres ski boots no doubt ..what sort of empty materialistic plastic ignoramusus buy seal fur coats ? there must be a huge market for this fur for this nasty Canadian government to let this killing take place year after year.. the charming minister for fisheries and oceans , Gail Shea, commented ( In Quebec) and I quote ....

"Sealing is a significant source of income in many small, isolated coastal communities throughout Atlantic Canada, Quebec and the North," said Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea. "Our management decisions for the hunt take into account this fact as well as the advice of scientists to ensure the seal population is maintained."

Gail Shea looks like a Rottweiller, so this is about all we can expect from someone like her. Ms Shea, the seals were doing very nicely before your government took it upon themselves to arrogantly decide which animals will live and which will die. . . you have decided to kill thousands of new born baby seals,. they are doomed from the start, they dont stand a chance, the poor mothers give birth only to see psychopaths running over the ice with a pick in their hands. .. you are not god, how dare YOU decide to kill thousands of new born seals ? who gives you this right ? I hope your not a mother Ms Shea, what a great role model you are, you would be right at home with the Alaskan butcher, Sarah Palin. She is also corrupt to the core !!! Ms She goes on to say ....

" DFO Fishery Officers will be monitoring the hunt to ensure compliance with regulations and licence conditions, and will take enforcement action "when necessary," said Shea.

Oh what an absolute crock . . take law enforcement Ms Shea ? what ? arrest the butchers ? the sick killers ? or the protesters ? ????

QUOTE :

"Rebecca Aldworth of the Humane Society International Canada says her group will once again be monitoring the hunt.

But she says in her opinion, the days of the annual hunt are numbered because international opposition to the killing of seals is growing."

UNQUOTE.

Lets hope and pray Rebecca is right, this must stop, even if a human wall is errected around the seals to protect them and there are thousands if not millions of animal rights protesters around the world who would do just that !!!!!

MIA MANIFOLD
AUSTRALIA

[Phoebe]

A couple of things. First, those of you who want to justify the seal hunt by pointing to the cruelty of factory farming need to think twice. Individuals fighting the seal hunt also fight factory farming. And to those of you who ask for humane killing, wake up. Taking an animal's life is never humane, no matter how you do it.

Second, factory farming is practiced not just in the U.S. but also in Canada ... and Europe and Asia. Multiple wrongs do not make a right. If you think that what is shown in "Death in a Factory Farm" happens only in the U.S. and/or only hog farms, you are kidding yourselves.

Third, Canada has a horrible record in terms of animal cruelty. Your laws protecting animals are basically from 1892. The recent changes to those laws were pretty much cosmetic. Your government allows the killing of wolves so hunters can shoot more moose? Your government allows the killing of polar bears so locals can ask $25,000 from foreigners for a tour on the ice to kill these bears? You allow the slaughtering of whales by a bunch of drunk locals in the name of tradition? The list is much longer than this, and I hope you get the point.

Fourth, Canada is an environmental nightmare. Destruction of nature to make room for the Olympic Village. Tar sands, etc....

In short, the view you Canadians have from yourselves is not shared by others. Maybe it's time for you to wake up and join the rest of us. If not, live with the fact that nobody wants to deal with your bloody furs and shut up when Europe is finally closing its borders to them. European consumers have spoken, we want no part of your shame. But that's not good enough for you, is it? You waste tax payers' money to send delegations over to Europe to convince those politicians of your lies of a humane hunt. In case you haven't noticed: Nobody is buying those lies. Our European politicians have called your politicians liars to their faces. Your press just chooses not to report that.

[Laura]

That is a very good point - we who are against the seal hunt are not just against the seal hunt - were against all types of animal cruelty despite country or animal! I have protested against whaling, shark finning, cruelty in farming, animal transportation, bull fighting, everything. So for those of you who think that people with morals and a conscience are solely targeting the seal hunt, pointing out other areas of animal cruelty does not change our mind in any way whatsoever - its a completely irrelevant point. Laura, UK.

[Wanda]

I am an American, I am 56 years old. I do not belong to any animal organization. I stopped eating meat, and I do not wear fur.
Man has hunted and used every animal, until they are extinct or on the endangered list.
I am against killing seals. I am against abusing and hurting any animal, or human.
I never realized how much humans hurt and terrorize animals for money, and fun.
I see only pain and suffering, and I can not accept this. I want it to be better for the baby seals, for all animals.
One day wearing fur will not be in fashion, each year more and more people choose not to wear fur.
It's a matter of the heart....

[oscar]

i spit on humanity.

go vegan.

[confucius]

hahaha Oscar spit on himself...

Mia Manifold is a racist. she said, " I can understand atrocious cruelty taking place in Asia because they are basically uneducated and a cruel race , they have always been cruel..." And " they breed like rabbits as it is"

Ok maybe she is right... I am cruel and I breed like a rabbit.

Club away boys... I was wrong. These people are sick and racist. Lets eat at red lobster tonight.

[Mark]

There is a peculiar tendency of Canadians to shift the blame, pointing bloody fingers at other countries while refusing to clean up their own backyard. The idea that seals are livestock is ludicrous, they have been part of an ecological balance for millions of years and Canada is destroying that balance. Canadians used the same tactic when they wiped out vast stocks of North Atlantic fish. An impoverished Newfoundland joined Canada after they had exterminated the Beothuk Indians, the Labrador Duck, the Giant Auk, the Walrus, the Newfoundland wolf and ravaged the populations of sea-birds and pilot whales. They fed pilot whales to mink in cages until the whales just simply disappeared. They joined Canada reluctantly because Canada offered them the baby bonus -- they would receive money just for having kids. That was the deal clincher for Newfoundland. As for the lie the seal killers and the corrupt politicians in the Canadian government keep floating around, "Seals are overpopulated": More than half the seal nurseries disappeared last year because of ice loss due to global warming and up to 90% of the pups were lost. The Canadian DFO which is composed of essentially corrupt officials, can't and won't make an accurate account, surveys indicate closer to three million, probably much lower, and dropping like a stone.

[Mark]

The Canadian seal massacres are the largest most savage extermination of wildlife in history. The cruelty is unspeakable and sickening, with scenes of mother seals screaming trying futilely to revive and protect their bloodied cubs from the relentless clubbers. That is why the European Parliament is banning the seal trade in all 27 member states, and why the US has banned it since 1974. An independent veterinary investigation revealed that 42% of the cubs were still conscious while they were being skinned alive. Europe has received 660 documented/filmed cruelty cases, including seals being skinned alive and large numbers of whitecoats illegally clubbed. Large numbers of maimed and wounded seals which escape to slip under the ice and die a slow death are never included in their kill counts.

A repeating argument of the seal killers is that seals "eat all the fish" It was Canada that wiped out the vast populations of cod, haddock, whiting and plaice with their greed and their factory trawlers. The diet of seals is only 3% food fish like cod. The diet of seals is the predators of the fish like skate and squid, so therefore the vast populations of fish that Canada had destroyed by 1992 will never come back since the predators numbers have grown with the brutal massacres of seals.

Another propoganda point is that seals are killed for food. They are not. Seals are killed for the fur market in Asia and their carcasses are discarded on the ice. The carcasses can't be sold and the Canadian government buys them up as an indirect subsidy. Even the fur prices have plummeted to half because of lack of buyers. In collusion with this mafia, Norwegian factory they shipped furs to illegally burned furs to try to drive the prices up. The sealers and the government officials that support them are essentially a small group of organized mafia. Another bogus argument is this is necessary income for "poor" people. There are only a few people who do these atrocities in the offseason for EXTRA money, many actually travel from the cities. Last year the income of this group was a paltry six million, one 20th of 1% of the revenue of the East Coast. The main income of the sealers is in various fisheries throughout the year, shellfish such as snow crab makes up a huge portion of that. The economy of Newfoundland grew by 9%, so there is no scarcity of jobs.

[Mark]

These small gang of sealers are in fact acting like traitors to Canada. To earn the pitiful $6 million profit they bilked the Canadian taxpayer for over $30 million dollars in subsidies (Coast Guard helicopter/ship support, overseas propaganda vacations for corrupt officials, etc) and cost Canada half a billion dollars in boycotts, much of that snow crabs, the mainstay of Newfoundland fisheries. To add insult to injury, many sealers are plagued with alcoholism and drug use and many do not work the rest of the year, collecting welfare checks instead.

Canadians are selfish and narrow-minded if they think an entire species or population of seal even belongs to Canada. Arctic seals are a world heritage and were here millions of years before Europe sent their ex-convicts and refugees to Canada and before those immigrants exterminated the real Canadians, the Beothuk Indians living on the East Coast. Those Indians had no effect on seals, and they would not agree with a greedy factory operation by a handful of thugs to slaughter millions of seals for the fashion industry in Asia. Canada's factory bloodbath on the ice has nothing to do with either native survival or "tradition".

[Mark]

There is a continuous diet of deception and propaganda from the Canadian politicians' and sealers' side. Regardless of who does the research on this, the results are always the same, the Canadian seal massacre is inhumane and a downright criminal act against against Canada, the world and the global environment. Even without the commonly occuring taking of whitecoats which is somehow "overlooked" by the DFO, hundreds of thousands of seals savagely killed between two weeks and two months old have just molted from their white coats and are still pups that cannot swim or eat solid food. Many Canadian officials are involved in corruption and as such must be prevented from committing acts which have nothing to do with the welfare and future of Canada, but only from their desire for votes. The main reason why outside observers of the seal hunt were banned is because these politicians have something to conceal, and they commonly permit their own regulations to be broken. Regardless of whether you dispute the carefully monitored veterinarian reports or the hundreds of observer accounts, there is no denying the large quantities of hard filmed and documented evidence. The European Parliament does not vote on hearsay. There is no excuse for what Canada is doing. Those who support the seal massacres are driving stubbornly forward with a selfish and immoral adherence to their prejudices. They have no conscience or morality, their purpose is simple greed and they do not care about the welfare of even their fellow Canadians. A case in point is what the DFO claimed about the North Atlantic cod, that there were virtually unlimited stocks to be harvested and they were controlling the harvest, and that justified their taking of 250,000 tons of cod annually along with destruction of fish nurseries with their draggers. The result was the extermination of fish stocks by 1992 and the loss of a hundred thousand jobs. The corruption in the Canadian government and in DFO is widespread. They have been shown to have repeatedly lied to the world, which is why the world does not credit the deceptive and false PR issued by vote-seeking Canadian politicians.

[MIA MANIFOLD]

confucius if your going to attack me then at least be credible ... you cant even spell your "non de plume" (noms de plume ) correctly. . take note . its spelt CONFUSIOUS ..GOT IT ? GOOD !!

So our intelligent confucius ( his spelling ) writes and again I quote :

" Mia Manifold is a racist. she said, " I can understand atrocious cruelty taking place in Asia because they are basically uneducated and a cruel race , they have always been cruel..."

Just telling it like it is confucius, just the facts and the truth, that's the Australian way.

The Canadian government and Mz Shea are evil & corrupt and they have blood on their hands.

This thread is not about racism its about ignoramusus like your good self who delight in hurting & killing baby seals . I would rather run off the road than run over and kill an animal, and yet the razor gangs of thugs who go out on this diabolical seal hunt every year do it willingly and without batting an eye, I bet they get off on seeing a baby seal screaming in agony. You gangs of "sealers" disgust me !!!! You "sealers" are depraved & rotten to the core, so too is the Canadian government.

I do believe these half wits known as 'sealers' would have a extremely low IQ, there is a pack mentality prevalent which only the brain dead and the uneducated have.

They are called "sealers" for want of a better name.

And trying to make some sort of smart arse reply which you think is humouress confucius ( his spelling ) is just as abhorrent & base as the "sealers" who obviously love their job.

The drones of society , the scum of the earth, the unfortunates, the dull and the stupid, these people are the 'sealers' who are too moronic to know better....perhaps we should feel sorry for them and turn our attention to the CANADIAN GOVERNMENT, a corrupt and evil bunch if ever there was one.

and from Mark and I quote ...

"There is a continuous diet of deception and propaganda from the Canadian politicians' and sealers' side.

Regardless of who does the research on this, the results are always the same, the Canadian seal massacre is inhumane and a downright criminal act against against Canada, the world and the global environment.

Even without the commonly occuring taking of whitecoats which is somehow "overlooked" by the DFO, hundreds of thousands of seals savagely killed between two weeks and two months old have just molted from their white coats and are still pups that cannot swim or eat solid food.

Many Canadian officials are involved in corruption and as such must be prevented from committing acts which have nothing to do with the welfare and future of Canada, but only from their desire for votes.

The main reason why outside observers of the seal hunt were banned is because these politicians have something to conceal, and they commonly permit their own regulations to be broken. " Unquote.

Well said Mark.

QUOTE :

" There is no excuse for what Canada is doing.

Those who support the seal massacres are driving stubbornly forward with a selfish and immoral adherence to their prejudices.

They have no conscience or morality, their purpose is simple greed and they do not care about the welfare of even their fellow Canadians. " Unquote.

The world is watching Canada, the world is appalled at the horrific slaughter of seal pups.

The world will make a united stance against the Canadian government and its already happening.

There are men in this world, and there are good men. One of the finest men, a man amongst men is Paul Watson, Captain of The Sea Shepherd who with compassion and goodness, works tirelessly to stop the slaughter of whales, dolphins, seals, all animals who are being abused , and mark my words, the world is waking up, the world is becoming smaller, we can now see what has been going on in Canada, it cant be concealed and hidden any more, we are aware of the seal slaughter, and as we watch the footage of barbaric obscene cruelty, we beome angry and we will never stop our fight for justice and for the humane treatment of all animals on this planet.

One of our super heros to the animals has died, Steve Irwin, but the other, Paul Watson is a man of decency , honour, integrity and compassion who will never give up his fight to save animals from futile senseless slaughter.

What a shame confucius ( his spelling ) doesn't have one smidgeon of Paul Watson's courage , commitment, decency, intelligence and goodness.

Just a waste of space really.

MIA MANIFIOLD
AUSTRALIA