Canada's seal hunt extended another month: 100,000 more seals to kill

[Shoelace]

to reach their bloody limit of 275,000 seal pups!


May take weeks to finish small-boat hunt: sealers
April 21, 2008, CBC News

The last phase of the East Coast seal hunt could continue for another month, a sealing group says.

The hunt for longliners was halted over the weekend, but the small-boat hunt is still underway.

Frank Pinhorn, president of the Canadian Sealers' Association, said Monday that sealers in vessels less than 10 metres long still have about 100,000 seals left in their quota. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans set an overall quota of 275,000 harp seals in this year's hunt, including now-completed phases in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

"So, they should have a very good hunt, from now, say, to the middle of May, anyway."

Participation in the opening days of the hunt at the Front — the traditional name given to sealing waters off Newfoundland's northeast coast — was very low, partly because of low pelt prices and high fuel costs.

Pinhorn said that while many fishermen stayed home, some longliners were to take between 1,500 and 3,000 seals each.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2008/04/21/seals-boats.html


On the same day, ABC World News reports this:

Canada's seal hunt wraps up
Posted Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:19am AEST

Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans has officially closed the last and largest phase of the seal hunt off Newfoundland and Labrador.

Officials say participation for this year's hunt was low, mainly because of the high price of fuel and the low price of pelts, which were selling for about half of what they were a year ago.

Hunting conditions were far from ideal, with heavy sea ice and snow hampering the sealers.

At least three boats were abandoned over the past week because of ice, and nearly a dozen others required assistance from the Canadian Coast Guard.

Federal officials say only about 80 per cent of this year's quota of 275,000 seals were taken.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/21/2222293.htm?section=world

(I did email them, correcting their error and isn't it just like them to get the story backwards and totally incorrect!) ARRRGGGHHH..

How you can help:

Sign the Pledge at US Humane Society's website:

http://www.hsus.org/protect_seals.html

Sign the petition to the EU to let them know you want them to ban all seal products (which they intend to do before summer):

http://www.hsus.org/about_us/humane_society_international_hsi/seal_trade_ban.html

It's Earth Day, let's stop this barbaric hunt!

[Longtooth]

1. What the hell are seal used for?

I don't recall ever seeing it on a menu anywhere.

[Shoelace]

2. fur coats for rich bitches and

seal oil capsules which are laced with PCBS, Mercury, and other toxic chemicals.
Other than that, millions of dead seal pup carcasses rot on the ice, or get dumped in the ocean.
Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, Versace still use these seal pelts for their rich clientele. Gucci recently agreed to NOT use them anymore.

[Longtooth]

3. Had not realized that.

In fact, I don't think I've EVER seen a seal fur coat. Course I'm just a poor fella down south.

[Shoelace]

5. I've never seen one either - mostly sold in Norway, Russia, etc.

there's more info on how it's done, what it's all about at the link but trust me, you will want to stop it when you read all the reasons why we should.

http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/protect_seals/about_the_canadian_seal_hunt/

[LeftyMom]

10. Importation of seal products has been against the law in the US for some time.

The fur goes to Europe, the seal oil mostly gets sold in Canada, for the same rather suspect health reasons people here in the US use fish oils.

[GDAEx2]

4. When does the season on sealers open?

:grr:

[Shoelace]

6. usually around March 26th

and you can read the reports from Rebecca Aldworth's "Live from the Ice" journal at the link. She's been on this hunt like glue this year though the reports have stopped for now. That is probably because of the Canadian govt's treatment of observers of the hunt. She's from the US Humane Society:

http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/marine_mammals_news/live_from_ice_032408.html

[Longtooth]

7. That's just disgraceful.

[Shoelace]

8. it's gut wrenching and heartbreaking, they are becoming endangered

from global climate change. Last year, there was nearly 100% mortality rate amongst these seal pups. They can't swim for a few weeks so last year, during that massive ice melt, they just drowned - terrible fate for such a beautiful sea mammal.
Total disregard and mismanagement on the part of the Atlantic tier of the Canadian govt. for their fisheries.

[orleans]

9. i don't get why canada does this--

they seem so compassionate and humane in so many ways

[Shoelace]

11. it's Newfoundland, Nova Scotia & Labrador

so it's kind of like the difference between states in our country and their attitudes. Folks in other provinces are against the seal hunt but the stubborness of the officials in the above mentioned provinces is astounding.
They could make more money doing eco-tourism rather than killing half a million Harp seal pups per year.
Fortunately, the EU Environmental Commission will most likely ban all seal products before the end of this Spring which will hopefully put an end to this years long battle to stop such a barbaric slaughter - the largest mammal slaughter in the world.
The US banned these products in the '80s, a fact I think we can be proud of.