For people who care about animals..

[Caiylania]

I got this in my mail, and I really want to help spread the knowledge of this event. To me, it is horrifying.

----------------Dear Friend,

More than 317,000 seals were slaughtered in the 2005 seal hunt.
A staggering 98.5% of the seals killed were three months old or
younger. Some of them were skinned while still conscious and
able to feel pain. Stand with me today and stop the seal hunt
forever by joining the Canadian seafood boycott.
http://hsus.ga4.org/campaign/protectseals/

Once you've signed the pledge, you'll be able to spot Canadian
seafood by using HSUS's downloadable pocket guide to spotting
seafood. You can also sign up for Seal Watch, a frequent email
that HSUS will send out during the hunt featuring stories and
images.

Thanks for joining me in ending this awful hunt.


https://community.hsus.org/campaign/protectseals?rk=npLMSjK1JQF1W

---------------------------

The links lead to a video of what happened in 2005, if you can, watch.

[AnticorRifling]

So would it be wrong to tell my favorite baby seal joke here?

[Wezas]

I'm willing to join the cause, Cai.

And the fact that I'm allergic to seafood might have a bit to do with why I'm joining in the boycott.

[Skirmisher]

So would it be wrong to tell my favorite baby seal joke here?

Yes you kook!!

Yeesh! You know i make those baby seal jokes also just because it is SO horrible how they "hunt" them that it almost seems unreal.

I don't tend to join things attacking entire industries for a relatively small, percentage wise, number of offenders but I might make an exception in this case.

I've seen some documentary videos of those baby seal clubbings and skinning and they are just nightmarish.

[HarmNone]

So would it be wrong to tell my favorite baby seal joke here?

Not only would it be wrong, but it might be fatal.

[xtc]

I have always been a person who cares about animals however this issue isn't clear cut. The seal hunt in Canada is only allowed by native aboriginal tribes, as it is their traditional way and for many of them all they know. The seal hunt isn't open to all people, just a very small minority who can prove they are a member of a native tribe for whom seal hunting is a tradition. Secondly we have an over population of seals in Canada, they are upsetting the ecosystem, as there are a proliferation of them.

The Aboriginal councils here strongly support their right to hunt seals. They see any outside interference as an attempt to pervert their way of life that existed before Europeans moved to North America.

Banning Canadian seafood won't change anything. The Seafood Companies have nothing to do with the seal hunt. Seal isn't sold on the commercial market, seafood companies here don't hunt, kill, process or sell seal meat. Only aboriginals are allowed to hunt seal and only for their personal use. There is no commercial hunt.

If you want to stop the hunt, two things have to happen. 1) Convince the Aboriginal Councils to stop hunting seals 2) Find another way to curb the seal population.

The Aboriginals in many parts of Canada have self rule. They have their only police, their own government and their courts. Close to Alaska we have two territories, The North West territory and Nunavut. Nunavut is an aboriginal territory where they have self rule, they are part of Canada but for the most part they operate autonomously.

So before you jump on the band wagon realize these groups have it wrong.

[Tisket]

Love the title of this thread. Might've as well been: CLICK ON THIS THREAD OR YOU HATE ANIMALS!!

Betcha anyone that skips it feels faintly guilty...

[Jazuela]

Yeah I was wondering there when I was reading the first thread, why anyone would boycott seafood companies to protest seal hunts. As far as I know, you can't buy seal meat in the USA, and it wasn't on any menus when I was in Canada, in two different provinces.

[Back]

I don't usually order seal when I go out to eat.

In fact, I have never ordered seal or bought seal meat.

It sounds pretty bad though and not something I would condone, unless it was a catastrophic situation in which there was nothing else to eat. Then you bet your ass I'd be clubbing any animal, young, old, crippled or metally challenged, that came across my path.

Regardless, I see no reason to kill seals in this day and age.

[Drinin]

IRegardless, I see no reason to kill seals in this day and age.


Because it's fun?

[Artha]

A baby seal walks into a...oh.

[Drinin]

http://www.sitinthecorner.com/b2/images/owned-babyseal.gif

[Skirmisher]

Wow Drinin, impressive display of wit there.

Howabout making your own thread for it though.

[Back]

Because it's fun?

It is my belief that man harming animals for fun makes that man a sociopath. You know what other men do with sociopaths? Well, at least, in America, we execute them.

End of story.

[Sylvan Dreams]

I'm more against the part where they skin the seals while they're still alive than the meat part - at least they eat the meat, but make sure the poor thing is dead before skinning it.

[Caiylania]

This hunt isn't held for the local tribes. They are fisherman who are doing it to sell the skins to fashion designers, not because it is 'their tradition'.

For me, it is more about the cruelty. They often just let them drown in their own blood and will even skin them alive.

Babies. It is wrong to do to any animal. That is also how they slaughter horses. It is cruel and base.

The seals themselves are left to rot away, they don't even use the meat for anything. The lack of humanity in this 'hunt' is what horrifies me. No animal deserves to suffer like that.

[Jazuela]

If they don't even use the meat for anything, and use only the skins for fashion design houses, then why would you post an urgent request for everyone to boycott the seafood industry? What does the seafood industry have to do with the seal hunts, and why would you punish them instead of the fashion designers? Refuse to buy sealskin clothing, if it's important to you. The fishermen would be doing this because someone is paying good money for those sealskins. They're paying good money because they, in turn, have customers who will pay even more for the end product. So - eliminate the desire for the end product, and you'll find the fishermen more interested in the fish and not in the seals.

[Skirmisher]

If they don't even use the meat for anything, and use only the skins for fashion design houses, then why would you post an urgent request for everyone to boycott the seafood industry? What does the seafood industry have to do with the seal hunts, and why would you punish them instead of the fashion designers? Refuse to buy sealskin clothing, if it's important to you. The fishermen would be doing this because someone is paying good money for those sealskins. They're paying good money because they, in turn, have customers who will pay even more for the end product. So - eliminate the desire for the end product, and you'll find the fishermen more interested in the fish and not in the seals.

Why?

Because the same people who control the fishing industry control the seal hunts.

Impact on the more profitable portion of the industry and the Dept will very likely decide the financial liabilities outweigh the gain from the sales.

I hope that clarifies things.

[Jazuela]

It clarifies that the fishing industry controls the seal hunts. It doesn't clarify why refusing to buy canadian crab or salmon will force the fishing industry to stop killing seals. If you want to get rid of seal killing, then doesn't it make -more- sense to stop buying sealskin clothing, since that's what they're killing them for? If you remove the profitability of *seal* then they'll stop hunting *seal.* If you remove the profitability of lobster, it'll kill the lobster fishing industry, but will have no impact on the seal industry - since seals aren't used for meat. It'll probably just drive the prices of sealskin up, but I'm guessing people who -do- buy sealskin clothes can afford the price hike.

It's like saying "Lexus car manufacturers are causing major problems - so let's boycott the tire manufacturers that provide Lexus with their tires." Why not just stop buying Lexus cars? If you want to stop seal hunting, then urge people to stop buying products made with seal. It just seems like the most efficient and logical conclusion, to me.

[Caiylania]

What Skirm said. Also, if you read the actual links I posted they explain it much better in more detail than I could.

To me it is telling the fisherman, if you continue to act in this cruel horrible manner, then we won't support your other buisness.

[Caiylania]

It clarifies that the fishing industry controls the seal hunts. It doesn't clarify why refusing to buy canadian crab or salmon will force the fishing industry to stop killing seals. If you want to get rid of seal killing, then doesn't it make -more- sense to stop buying sealskin clothing, since that's what they're killing them for? If you remove the profitability of *seal* then they'll stop hunting *seal.* If you remove the profitability of lobster, it'll kill the lobster fishing industry, but will have no impact on the seal industry - since seals aren't used for meat. It'll probably just drive the prices of sealskin up, but I'm guessing people who -do- buy sealskin clothes can afford the price hike.

It's like saying "Lexus car manufacturers are causing major problems - so let's boycott the tire manufacturers that provide Lexus with their tires." Why not just stop buying Lexus cars? If you want to stop seal hunting, then urge people to stop buying products made with seal. It just seems like the most efficient and logical conclusion, to me.

They are doing that, too. Also the car comparison should be redone. lexus vs tire company are different companies. Different people do both


The SAME fisherman who catch lobsters, crabs, fish, etc... are the same people who go and do the seal hunts.

Thus I will not buy their fish, crabs, etc...

An example at a local level would be a pet store who sold many good products. It was discovered that pet supply store also owned and ran a puppy mill. The people who had used that store were horrified at the conditions it was legally ran in, and while petitioning for harsher laws also boycotted the store itself. What did the leashes and cat gyms have to do with the puppy mill?

The owners got the point. They made most of their money off the pet supply store and so shut down the puppy mill, even donating the dogs to willing homes.

That is the point. If the fisherman can no longer sell their fish because people object to the way they slaughter seals, then the hope is they will stop slaughtering the seals.

[Skirmisher]

It's like saying "Lexus car manufacturers are causing major problems - so let's boycott the tire manufacturers that provide Lexus with their tires." Why not just stop buying Lexus cars? If you want to stop seal hunting, then urge people to stop buying products made with seal. It just seems like the most efficient and logical conclusion, to me.

You are being obtuse.

Whether you are doing so purposefully because your initial point has been answered in a manner negating your objection or doing so inadvertantly, and if that is the case then the post you made recently about giving some posters too much credit should start to ring true in your own ears, the reason matters little to me.

The people that object to such furs will obviously already not be buying them.
So the next quickest and most expedient step is to stop the furs at their source.

Please remember that furs are a luxury item and not a staple, while for most fisherman, the fur hunts are but a small percentage of their income. If they and the govt agencies overseeing them see a large potential hit to the economy as a whole they are far more likely to react first to pressure to stop the trade and therefore stopping the baby seal hunts.

[xtc]

This hunt isn't held for the local tribes. They are fisherman who are doing it to sell the skins to fashion designers, not because it is 'their tradition'.

For me, it is more about the cruelty. They often just let them drown in their own blood and will even skin them alive.

Babies. It is wrong to do to any animal. That is also how they slaughter horses. It is cruel and base.

The seals themselves are left to rot away, they don't even use the meat for anything. The lack of humanity in this 'hunt' is what horrifies me. No animal deserves to suffer like that.
The cruelty of the hunt and the clubbing is distasteful, no question about it. However no one is selling pelts, the Canada Government now supervises the hunt. This is aboriginal tradition and only aboriginals are involved. Any small group in the past that tried to make a few bucks have been stopped. Again this has nothing to do with the seafood industry. Your protests are best directed against the aboriginal tribes and the Canadian Government. There isn't a commercial hunt. In past years this is a subject that was examined closely by the Canadian media. Animal rights groups up here made similar accusations and they were proven false. Because of this loss of credibility, these groups don't utter a peep up here anymore. Now they are taking their tired lies and trying to dupe the American people about it. Again I find the hunt distasteful. If you want to do something about it right the Aboriginal councils and the Canadian Government.

The Seal Hunt takes place in Newfoundland and Labrador. I will give the information to take your protest to the proper people. Be aware that if you start quoting the animal rights stuff that has been proven false you are likely to be rebuffed.


Premier of Newfoundland
Danny Williams
The Office of the Premier
Confederation Building, East Block
P.O. Box 8700
St. John's, NL
A1B 4J6
Phone: (709) 729-3570
Fax: (709) 729-5875
premier@gov.nl.ca

Prime Minister of Canada
(recently defeated in the last election but the new PM hasn't taken office yet)
Paul Martin
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa
K1A 0A2
Fax: 613-941-6900
pm@pm.gc.ca

Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
(again since his party lost the election he will be replaced soon)
Geoff Regan
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
200 Kent Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0E6
Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca


Andy Scott (again soon to be replaced)
Minister of Indian Affairs
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
Telephone: (613) 992-1067
Fax: (613) 996-9955
E-Mail: Scott.A@parl.gc.ca


The other player in this is the Innu, they are the local Aborginals in Newfoundland.
http://www.innu.ca

This link may give some understanding of the Innu's legal standing in Newfoundland.
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/pr/info/info62_e.html

There is also a Government organisation call the Aboriginal People's Commission that may be involved.
http://www.apc-cpa.ca/default_e.aspx

Prime Minister designate (this guy won the last election and will soon take office to be the new Prime Minister)
The Honourable Stephen Harper
Leader of the Opposition
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A6
Phone Number
(613) 996-6740
Fax Number
613) 947-0310
Harper.S@parl.gc.ca

[xtc]

They are doing that, too. Also the car comparison should be redone. lexus vs tire company are different companies. Different people do both


The SAME fisherman who catch lobsters, crabs, fish, etc... are the same people who go and do the seal hunts.

Thus I will not buy their fish, crabs, etc...

An example at a local level would be a pet store who sold many good products. It was discovered that pet supply store also owned and ran a puppy mill. The people who had used that store were horrified at the conditions it was legally ran in, and while petitioning for harsher laws also boycotted the store itself. What did the leashes and cat gyms have to do with the puppy mill?

The owners got the point. They made most of their money off the pet supply store and so shut down the puppy mill, even donating the dogs to willing homes.

That is the point. If the fisherman can no longer sell their fish because people object to the way they slaughter seals, then the hope is they will stop slaughtering the seals.

This is absolutely false. The seal hunt is done primarily by the aboriginals. The Fishing Industry is in NO WAY involved. I doubt you have been to Newfoundland, I appreciate that you are trying to stop the hunt but most of the stuff you are saying has been proven FALSE on numerous occasions.

[Skirmisher]

This is absolutely false. The seal hunt is done primarily by the aboriginals. The Fishing Industry is in NO WAY involved. I doubt you have been to Newfoundland, I appreciate that you are trying to stop the hunt but most of the stuff you are saying has been proven FALSE on numerous occasions.

So you are saying all those boats being led by a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker were all aboriginals?

I find that difficult to believe.

And for a moment assuming that is actually so, the rather extensive use of modern technology would tend to detract from the claim that this is a cultural thing and part of their heritage.

[CrystalTears]

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/reports-rapports/facts-faits/facts-faits2004_e.htm

http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_faq.html


There are no indigenous peoples involved in the East coast Canadian seal hunt. Seals hunted by Inuit or Native people in the North are taken in the arctic and are primarily ringed seals. The Harp and Hood seals are hunted in the Gulf of St.Lawrence by residents of the Magdalen Islands in Quebec. These are French speaking people.


The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans is a bureaucracy run primarily by Newfoundlanders. They set the policy. Politicians have basically rubber-stamped the wishes of the bureaucrats. Most of the Fisheries Ministers have hailed from Newfoundland. Another problem is that there is much competition between the political parties to control Newfoundland and any party that opposes the seal hunt is out of the running. Therefore the parties have all agreed to support the hunt, leaving no alternatives for people who are opposed to the hunt. Even the Green Party of Newfoundland supports the seal kill for fear of losing votes.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Fishing--Hunting/Fur--Trapping/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions%20about%20The%20HSU S's%20Campaign%20against%20the%20Canadian%20Seal%2 0Hunt.htm


Isn't the Canadian Seal Hunt an Aboriginal Hunt?
Subsistence seal hunts are not the target of the Protect Seals campaign. Fewer than 1% of harp seals last year were killed by aboriginal people in Canada. The truth is that the commercial seal hunt near Newfoundland and in Gulf of St. Lawrence is a large scale, industrial slaughter conducted by non-native people. Powerful ice-breaking boats and sophisticated aerial-spotting techniques enable hunters to pinpoint seals with relative ease. This year, the combination of high-tech equipment and old-time brutality will translate into more than 300,000 dead seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador.

You can stop calling these people liars now. They're not.


Why Is The HSUS Using White Coat Imagery? Is It Legal to Kill Baby Seals?
Make no mistake: This hunt is still very much one for babies. Ninety-six percent of the seals killed are under three months of age. For an animal who may live more than 35 years, these are babies by any standard. No one is saying that white coats (those under 12 days) are being targeted. However, baby seals may be killed when they are just beginning to lose their white fur and still appear to be a white coat. These seals are called ragged jackets, and we use their pictures often in our campaign. Most have not yet had their first solid meal or taken their first swim—and they literally have no escape from the hunters.

I don't see it benefitting anything really. If it's to control seal population for the fish, that's one thing. But I'm not seeing that as the problem. I'll have to do more reading. It just seems like excessive and unnecessary cruelty.

[Latrinsorm]

You can stop calling these people liars now. They're not.To play the devil's advocate, CT, we don't have to look far in our *own* political scene to find partisans/zealots who just flat-out lie about any number of issues (BUSH LYED). To that end, I've obtained these links for your perusal:

http://www.cdfe.org/seal_hunt_lies.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4406665.stm

[CrystalTears]

Thanks. It's why I was looking for sources outside of that woman and the Humane Society to see how much truth there was to it all. I mainly wanted to end the cries that only the Aboriginals are the ones involved with the seal hunt, which is clearly not so.

[Skirmisher]

To play the devil's advocate, CT, we don't have to look far in our *own* political scene to find partisans/zealots who just flat-out lie about any number of issues (BUSH LYED). To that end, I've obtained these links for your perusal:

http://www.cdfe.org/seal_hunt_lies.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4406665.stm

I would suggest people read the following link instead of the first of those you listed as i found it to be more than slightly slanted and in fact drew its information from the linked article below.
http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2005/04/15/writer_fabricated_boston_globe_story_on_seal_hunt/

[xtc]

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/reports-rapports/facts-faits/facts-faits2004_e.htm

http://www.seashepherd.org/seals/seals_faq.html





http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/Fishing--Hunting/Fur--Trapping/Frequently%20Asked%20Questions%20about%20The%20HSU S's%20Campaign%20against%20the%20Canadian%20Seal%2 0Hunt.htm



You can stop calling these people liars now. They're not.



I don't see it benefitting anything really. If it's to control seal population for the fish, that's one thing. But I'm not seeing that as the problem. I'll have to do more reading. It just seems like excessive and unnecessary cruelty.

You didn’t use the Government of Canada website for your quotes. Sam Shepherd society is full of shit. The Aboriginals are the ones doing the hunt. Contact the Fisheries Minister and ask him. Many aboriginals speak English or French certainly the Metis speak French. The Magdalen Islands are off the coast of Quebec the hunt is taking place in Newfoundland Sam Shepherd needs to learn his geography.

The Department of Fisheries is a Federal Bureaucracy and run out of Ottawa not Newfoundland. The policies are set by the Federal Government in Ottawa. The Fisheries Minister is from Newfoundland but to start the hunt again required an act of Parliament. MP’s from across Canada voted to end the ban on hunting seals. The same way Congressmen and Senators from across America vote to make a law.

The fact that the aboriginals have advanced in there techniques changes nothing. Captain and High Liner aren't doing the hunt, the seafood industry has nothing to do with it.

Baby Seal pups are not being hunted, it is illegal.

I agree the hunt seems cruel and archaic. What the non-Canadians need to realize is that the aboriginals were the ones who lobbied for the return of the hunt. To change anything you need to first change the minds of the aboriginals. As I have mentioned they have self rule in many places in Canada and many treaties with the Canadian Government.

Banning Canadian seafood will do nothing to change the hunt. In my last post I provided the names and number of the Government officials to contact who are involved. However today the Conservatives take power so Stephen Harper, the new Prime Minister is the only Government official who is still involved. I will post the names and sontact information of the New Fisheries Minister and Minister of Indian Affairs once they are appointed.

[Sean of the Thread]

Baby Seals = Renewable Resource.

[Caiylania]

Kill all the babies, none can grow up to have babies now can they?

[xtc]

Kill all the babies, none can grow up to have babies now can they?

While I appreciate your zeal and the cause I wish you would fact check your claims. This is from the Government of Canada.

Myth #1: The Canadian government allows sealers to kill adorable little white seals.
Reality: The image of the whitecoat harp seal is used prominently by seal hunt opponents. This image gives the false impression that vulnerable seal pups are targeted by sealers during the commercial hunt.

The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) and hooded seal pups (bluebacks) is illegal - and has been since 1987. Marine Mammal Regulations prohibit the trade, sale or barter of the fur of these pups. Furthermore, seals cannot be harvested when they are in breeding or birthing grounds.

[Skirmisher]

Your posting claiming that no pups can be hunted perplexed me upon reading this article from the New York Times.



FOREIGN DESK

World Briefing | Americas: Canada: Seal Hunt Starts Next Week
By COLIN CAMPBELL (NYT) (NYT) 206 words
Published: March 23, 2005

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced that Canada's annual seal hunt, the world's largest, would open Tuesday and that for the second year in a row it would have a quota raised to a near-record high, compared with past decades. Until May, the federal government will allow the killing of up to 320,000 baby harp seals, almost as many as the 350,000 last year, which was the biggest hunt in at least a half-century. Defending the hunt against animal rights advocates, the government says the harp seal herd is healthy and abundant, with a population of more than five million, close to the largest ever recorded. The animals are hunted largely for their fur, which has become more valuable as new markets have opened. Colin Campbell (NYT)

So here we have perhaps the single most powerful newspaper saying that the Canadian Government IS in fact allowing the hunting of baby seals.

Perhaps this is all a game of semantics is all.

The Canadian Depratment of Fisheries and Oceans website that you listed earlier says this on the "Myths" section also quoted earlier.

The vast majority of harp seals are taken after more than 25 days of age, after their white coat has moulted.http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/myth_e.htm

So 26 days is no longer a "baby" or "pup" and therefore okay to them I guess. I'm sure to most the difference of one week or so changes little.

I also see the words vast majority but no actual numbers. That is handy as it allows great "wiggle room" in case anyone really makes a stink and finds those breaking the rules regarding the hunt.

The Govt website also made sure to try to point out that the meat and other parts are trying to be pushed as ways of income generation although clearly stil a miniscule amount and that using their own words from above the "vast majority" of money made and therefore the impetus behind the hunt is the fur trade.

[CrystalTears]

Interesting. Although the only consistant thing I saw was that whitecoats are what are illegal to hunt. Sea Shepherd even admitted that they film them for added effect, but that you never see anyone harm the whitecoats because no one does.

Honestly, I don't care if it's a cultural thing, a fishing thing, a fur thing, a boredom thing.. the whole hunt just seems excessive and cruel to me and pretty much an unnecessary evil.

[xtc]

Your posting claiming that no pups can be hunted perplexed me upon reading this article from the New York Times.



So here we have perhaps the single most powerful newspaper saying that the Canadian Government IS in fact allowing the hunting of baby seals.

Perhaps this is all a game of semantics is all.

The Canadian Depratment of Fisheries and Oceans website that you listed earlier says this on the "Myths" section also quoted earlier.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/myth_e.htm

So 26 days is no longer a "baby" or "pup" and therefore okay to them I guess. I'm sure to most the difference of one week or so changes little.

I also see the words vast majority but no actual numbers. That is handy as it allows great "wiggle room" in case anyone really makes a stink and finds those breaking the rules regarding the hunt.

The Govt website also made sure to try to point out that the meat and other parts are trying to be pushed as ways of income generation although clearly stil a miniscule amount and that using their own words from above the "vast majority" of money made and therefore the impetus behind the hunt is the fur trade.


The seal hunt is a way of life and a tradition for aboriginal people. In recent years a small amount of them use the hunt to supplement their income. These are economically depressed people many of whom live below the poverty line. Economics is not the primary motivation for the hunt. The hunt was re-introduced after lobbying from aboriginal groups who contended that Canada was interfering with their way of life by banning the hunt.

[xtc]

Interesting. Although the only consistant thing I saw was that whitecoats are what are illegal to hunt. Sea Shepherd even admitted that they film them for added effect, but that you never see anyone harm the whitecoats because no one does.

Honestly, I don't care if it's a cultural thing, a fishing thing, a fur thing, a boredom thing.. the whole hunt just seems excessive and cruel to me and pretty much an unnecessary evil.

It seems cruel to me as well. I have tried to inject the reality behind the hunt here and encourage those people who are against it to direct their protest to the Canadian Government and the Aboriginal councils.

[calyx]

Seal hunting is allowed from November through April, with most of the activity being in late March, early April.

Just going to throw some facts out:

In 2003, the three-year harp seal quota granted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was increased to a maximum of 975,000 animals per three years, with a maximum of 350,000 animals in any two consecutive years.[10] In 2006, 325,000 harp seals, as well as 10,000 hooded seals and 10,400 grey seals were killed. An additional 10,000 animals were allocated for hunting by Aboriginal peoples.

So the Aboriginals get 10,000 out of the entire hunt... Doesn't seem to me like that is the majority of the sealers, or the main purpose for the hunt.
Fishermen pretty much have a hate-hate relationship with the seals, blaming them for the declining populations of fish, not taking responsibility for their own overhunting.

<<Baby Seal pups are not being hunted, it is illegal.>>
Baby seal pups who are still white coats.. meaning 2 weeks of age or younger, are not being hunted. So if they're 3-4 weeks old and have lost the fuzzy white coat, they don't count as babies?

Also, there is not a huge market for seal skins. The Canadian government is spending money trying to build markets for it. In the last couple years, thousands of seal skins have been BURNED because there was no market for them.

This entire thing disgusts me.

[Sean of the Thread]

Where is your crusade against poor chicken eggs being harvested or cows being milked and cattle being turned into delicious steaks?

I will admit that seals have really cute eyes.. I can't argue that.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b236/Japgross/skinnedbabyifaw406k.jpg

[TheEschaton]

We only care about animals on this board if they live in our homes and fetch us sticks (or beer).

[Sean of the Thread]

Or drunken penguins.

[Methais]

Where is your crusade against poor chicken eggs being harvested or cows being milked and cattle being turned into delicious steaks?

I will admit that seals have really cute eyes.. I can't argue that.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b236/Japgross/skinnedbabyifaw406k.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f74/pinktaco6/puke.jpg

[Sean]

Or drunken penguins.

It's too damn hot for a penguin to be just walkin' around. I gotta send you back to the South Pole.

[Sean of the Thread]

Hahha touche.

[Parkbandit]

It's too damn hot for a penguin to be just walkin' around. I gotta send you back to the South Pole.

Thankfully, global warming will kill all penguins... so we don't have to deal with them drinking our beer.

[Sean]

Thankfully, global warming will kill all penguins... so we don't have to deal with them drinking our beer.

I don't know why I'm suprised that you would take a Billy Madison quote and spin it into a political statement.

[Ignot]

First of all, I like seals and everything but let's be realistic. I don't see why people get so upset about killing seals. They aren't endangered or anything and it is used as a valuable resource (doesn't always have to be food). Seems foolish to be so concerned about it. You would think you would be concerned more about an animal that is endangered or something.

Or is it just the means by which they kill them that is so bad? A club seems like a pretty cheap and effective option of hunting something that isn't very fast. Maybe if they just shot them from a distance then people may not be so upset.

[Methais]

Or is it just the means by which they kill them that is so bad? A club seems like a pretty cheap and effective option of hunting something that isn't very fast. Maybe if they just shot them from a distance then people may not be so upset.

I think it's a combination of how young the seals are, and moreso the way in which they're killed and apparently sometimes skinned alive.

So yeah, I think if they were just shot in the head and died instantly people wouldn't make such a deal about it.

[Lomoriond]

Sad... most people only care about animals getting murdered if they are cute

Cows are ugly... Fuck em... drink their milk, eat their meat, wear their flesh

Seals? SOO CUTE. SAVE THE SEALS!


Me... I keep my baby seals in an old well down in my basement

"IT PUTS THE LOTION ON IT'S PELT OR ELSE IT GETS THE CLUB AGAIN!"

[TheEschaton]

Next time why don't you just put a "(tm) Dennis Leary" after your post?

[Lomoriond]

Next time why don't you just put a "(tm) Dennis Leary" after your post?

Way to go, detective dipshit. You got me. I used the "we only eat cute animals" bit from Leary, verbatim.

Oh wait. No I didn't. The "we only save cute animals" bit was NOT invented by leary.


Here's a copy of the exact bit in question:


Red meat, white meat, blue meat, meat-o-fucking-rama. You will eat it. Because not eating meat is a decision. Eating meat is an instinct! Yeah! And I know what it's about. "I don't want to eat the meat because I love the animals. I love the animals." Hey, I love the animals too. I love my doggy. He's so cute. My fluffy little dog.. He's so cute- There's the problem. We only want to save the cute animals, don't we? Yeah. Why don't we just have animal auditions. Line 'em up one by one and interview them individually. "What are you?" "I'm an otter." "And what do you do?" "I swim around on my back and do cute little human things with my hands." "You're free to go." "And what are you?" "I'm a cow." "Get in the fucking truck, ok pal!" "But I'm an animal." "You're a baseball glove! Get on that truck!" "I'm an animal, I have rights!" "Yeah, here's yer fucking cousin, get on the fucking truck, pal!" We kill the cows to make jackets out of them and then we kill each other for the jackets we made out of the cows.


Aside from the use of Cows (the most obvious ugly animal we slaughter by the thousands) and the mention of us not killing cute animals... that's nothing close to what I said.

Dumbass