A More Humane Hunt? You decide........

[hedge*]

This year the Canadian government promised a more humane hunt. They said “Canada’s seal hunt is humane, sustainable and responsible.”

They lied.

Thanks to the support they've received so far, IFAW Hunt Observers have been on the ground and in the air documenting the hunt since it opened on the 28th of March. Only days into the hunt they have captured on camera instances where animals were shot and clearly left to suffer on the ice…in one case for over a minute. They have witnessed live seals being hooked and dragged across the ice. And in one of the more disturbing moments they watched as a sealer wrote an expletive on the ice while a recently clubbed seal behind him started to move...obviously still alive.

Is this the Canadian government’s idea of a more humane hunt?

WARNING: This footage is graphic and disturbing. But just because you choose not to watch it, it doesn't mean it's not happening.

Observing and documenting the hunt is not easy work. It means hours of anxiously scanning the gulf region looking for sealing boats - because the Department of Fisheries and Oceans won’t release specific coordinates of where hunting is taking place. It means watching hours of tape to make sure we document every violation that we captured on film.

But without this footage the world would have no idea of the kind of cruelty really taking place.

The Canadian government will continue in their attempt to justify the seal hunt – both in Canada and abroad. But no matter how the truth is distorted, it cannot change the fact that the seal hunt is terribly cruel and unneccesary.

Your support today is more critical than ever.

more....

[akasha]

Sadily thats what alot of the world is doing

[oracle's child]

what is a more humane way to do it? i'm not being a smart aleck, i'm just not that familiar with this situation. i have heard of this and had a friend years ago who explained that her dad did this when she was a kid growing up in alaska in the 60's. how does one protest this kind of thing and show their support?

[oracle's child]

oh, i chose not to watch the footage. i have animals at home and i cry too easily.

[hedge*]

what is a more humane way to do it? i'm not being a smart aleck, i'm just not that familiar with this situation. i have heard of this and had a friend years ago who explained that her dad did this when she was a kid growing up in alaska in the 60's. how does one protest this kind of thing and show their support?

Although it pains me to type this - there is a more humane way to do this - seems such a contradiction doesn't it?.
For instance, the regulations state that sealers may only kill seals with hakapiks, round, heavy clubs, rifles and shotguns. In addition, sealers using hakapiks and clubs must strike the seal on the forehead until the skull is crushed and then must perform a blinking reflex test or manually check the skull. Hunters must administer blinking reflex tests as soon as
possible to confirm that the seal is dead before proceeding to skin it. Sealers are not allowed to skin or bleed seals until they are dead.

Despite these explicit regulations, IFAW has videotaped evidence of sealers using what appear to be illegal weapons to kill seals, hooking live seals and dragging them across the ice, failing to administer blinking reflex tests and even the skinning and bleeding of live seals.
This apparent disregard for the regulations has been observed and documented repeatedly during IFAW’s annual trips to Canada’s
commercial seal hunt.

The Canadian government claims the seal hunt is “closely monitored and tightly regulated.” Because the seal hunt involves thousands of sealers hunting over hundreds of square miles of ice and water, it becomes nearly impossible to monitor and regulate effectively.

Two recent veterinary reports on the Canadian seal hunt have documented unacceptable levels of cruelty. The hunt is a highly
competitive activity, carried out over an extensive area, and under very unpredictable conditions. Speed, not humaneness, is the rule, as hunters rush to kill as many seals as possible in the short time available to them. Year after year, seal hunt observers report abuses such as hooking and skinning live seals.

If you are apalled and outraged by this massacre and would like to help put an end to it - you can visit this link and sign an email to urge the Canadian Prime Minister and Canadian Ambassador to end the cruelty of the seal hunt. A nifty little bit to add to the email yourself is that you will boycott ALL Canadian products until this barbaric slaughter stops. And please DO NOT buy Canadian produce of any kind (check labels).

[[AmberRose13]]

Ok, I have to play devils advocate here....
I am not for animal cruelty, and concidering the seal is my spiritual animal it was had for me to see the opposing side.
Yes, the way those hunters are doing this is wrong, but seal hunting cannot be banned.

My ex husbands mother grew up on a small island, mckinnan island, in Canada. They had no electricity growing up. Her father was a fisherman. The seals started to overrun the island once they were protected. They wiped out almost all of the fish, which was about the only food they had. During the winter, if it wasn't for the seals fur, my exs mother and her siblings wouldn't have had boots and coats for the winter. Whenever they did hunt seals, they would use every part of the animal.

I'm probably missing some more info, since its been a while since I talked to his mother and grandmother about this.
But truthfully, I understand why they did it. They had to keep the population down, they needed food, fur for clothes, which they made. They didn't do it for profit.

And there are still families living out there. Obviously its by choice. They don't want to live in the society we've created, and frankly I can't blame them. My exs family goes out there almost every summer for a month. I wish I could go at some point, but can't really do that now....

I don't know... just some food for thought.

[hedge*]

Let it be known I do not oppose or begrudge native people killing seals in order to survive.
There are no Inuit or native people involved in the annual taking of the 325,000 seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the Northern coast of Newfoundland and the Southern coast of Labrador. The Inuit do not favor harp seals, but rather target ring and bearded seals.

The DFO's (Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans)position is that the harp seal is a major predator of the cod, therefore, insists seals must die so that the cod populations can increase. Yet, there is no scientific justification for this position. Dr. David Lavigne, the world's leading authority on harp seals, has created a food-chain chart that illustrates a complex interaction of more than eighty animals and plants existing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. According to Dr. Lavigne, harp seals only utilize young cod for 3 percent of their diet. Of greater concern should be the fact that many of the other fish that comprise the remaining 97 percent of the seals' diet are themselves predators on young cod. Remove the harp seal, and the return of the cod could be hindered - not helped - by a significant increase in predatory fish hunting for cod. We must remember this is the DFO which is responsible for the mismanagement and ultimate collapse of the cod fishery. Why should we expect them to manage the seals any better? When the first European explorers landed on the East coast of Canada there was no shortage of cod, and there were an estimated 30 million seals. Now, with cod populations at less than 1% of pre-Columbian levels, the seal has become the scapegoat for the excesses of the Canadian and foreign drag trawler fleets that plundered the Grand Banks for decades, and left very little behind.

In 1993, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society brought worldwide attention to the mismanagement of these East coast fisheries when Captain Watson took the ship Cleveland Amory to the Grand Banks. He chased foreign trawlers out of the area where they were fishing illegally and cut the trawl net of a Cuban vessel. The Canadian government arrested Watson and a lengthy trial ensued (in which Watson was eventually found not guilty of the major charges brought against him). What is interesting about this event is that Watson and Sea Shepherd were cheered and thanked by many local fishermen who were happy to see that someone was doing what their own government should have done.

[oracle's child]

in describing the way these people go about this, i couldn't help but think of our (U.S.) beef industry. the horrible way they put these poor cows down is unspeakably cruel. some are so sick they can't even stand up or are still alive when the butchering starts. i'm so upset now.......geez. what the hell is wrong with people? yes, i will go on the link and have a look see. AmberRose13, i'm all for hunting out of necessity and not wasting anything but in regards to this, you have to admit it's uncalled for.

[oracle's child]

i've gone on the link and keep getting that "......cannot display the webpage" thingy.

[hedge*]

They're having problems with the site...please try again later - I'll keep an eye on it to make sure it's working.

[[AmberRose13]]

I never said it wasn't uncalled for. I said that it cannot be banned all together. Just like the things the government actually tries to do to help, there is a huge majority that abuse the privledge, like in this case.

Unfortunately there will never be a medium.

- Amberrose

[hedge*]

I said that it cannot be banned all together. Just like the things the government actually tries to do to help, there is a huge majority that abuse the privledge, like in this case.

Unfortunately there will never be a medium.

But that is not so.
These atrocities CAN be stopped.
If enough people pull together and support causes and hit the people in charge where it hurts (ie Money) then a complete ban is perfectly plausible.

If this stirs a part of you that is disgusted and horrified then please act on those feelings and emotions.
If this effects you in no way what so ever ....then fine.
So long as you have an understanding and can explain and justify your reasons and logic.

I'm not forcing people to watch this video, I'm not forcing people to boycott Canadian products UNLESS you are horrified at this barbaric behaviour and you want to do something about it.

I am just bringing awareness to people.
However you choose to react to this information is entirely your choice.

[hedge*]

The links are working now.

I ask every member here to at least watch the video, read the information available.....even go on nuetral websites.
Collect your information, form your conclusion.

IF what you see, read and learn horrifies you then please act on it.

send this email

If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem.

[thatguy]

Hi hedge,

I've got a bit going on at the moment. I'm not sure I understand all the
nuances, but I've watched the videos, and I trust your judgement.

Unfortunately, in many ways, Canada is a lot like the USA, that is, a
dictatorship in the guise of a democracy. If people are upset about
something, the response isn't to address their concerns, its to either
silence them through political manipulations and propaganda, or to coerce
them into changing what they think through political manipulations and
propaganda. If that doesn't work, those who complain are branded as an
undesirable out-group and force is used, be it financial, legal or military.

Hell, our government *stole* money from us and gave it to their friends
and they almost got re-elected! (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponsorship_scandal)

Maybe I'm just being too cynical.

Being a Canadian though, I can't really boycott Canadian goods.
However, I do live in our nation's capital. Once my life has settled to
something resembling normal, I'll hope you'll remind me to write a letter
to my Member of Parliament.

T. Guy

[LUNAAMOR]

MUTTS

even they know seal killing its wrong