Stop the Canadian Seal Hunt!

Within the past few days, I have become increasingly aware of this disturbing piece of news, and although it has absolutely nothing to do with dogs and cats, I thought it was very important to share it with you.  First of all, I never even knew this was going on, and how extreme it is.  Today, I want to share some information with you about the annual seal slaughter that is taking place right now, as you are reading this in Canada.  If you visit my “Pet Resources on the Web” page you will see that I have signed a petition to ban this and while it is still taking place this year, I have high hopes that we can raise awareness about the issue and eventually stop it.

This post may at times be difficult to read and I am not trying to be disgusting, but I am going to be honest about the ferocity and inhumaneness of what takes place.  Your comments on this subject are strongly welcomed, and I especially want to hear from my Canadian readers - what do you think about the practice?  Do you know anyone who takes place in it?  Please leave me a comment - they are greatly appreciated!

This year, sealers in Canada plan to slaughter around 275,000 baby seals.  Around 95% (or higher) of the seals killed are less than 3 months old.  Many of them have never had a solid meal and have not even gotten to swim for the first time.   The seals are killed for their fur which is sold overseas in Europe.  Now, it may be just me but I would never even think about wearing a fur coat that was made of a baby seal…..if you have ever seen pictures of a baby harp seal, you know that they are absolutely adorable and it is very hard for me to imagine the type of person that could kill them.

The Canadian government claims that the killing of the seals is humane, but from what I have read - it most certainly is not.  The seals are killed by: clubbing them with an item similar to a baseball bat, shooting them, or clubbing them with a long stick that has a sharp hook on the end.  It has been reported that some of the seals are not immediately killed and suffer through being skinned or impaled on sharp hooks while they are still living.  I don’t see anything humane about that.

Many nations around the world have taken steps to end their seal trade with Canada, and some have announced their intentions to do so.  This includes:  Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Panama, Slovenia, and the United States.  The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is calling for the Canadian government to  put an end to the seal hunt by fairly buying out the sealing industry.  This would provide sealers with compensation for their lost income as the hunt is closed.

In 2005, the  HSUS has urged the United States to put pressure on the Canadian government by boycotting all of Canada’s seafood.  Since the start of the boycott, the amount of snow crabs the United States imports from Canada has decreased by more than $465 million.  

Canada’s commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine animals (of any kind) on Earth.  Hundreds of thousands of seals are killed each year, and for what?  The market of furs and other seal products have been on the decline and to be perfectly honest, who even needs them?  Although it is hard, we have to try and imagine ourselves being in the seals place.  Think about it, you are just getting adjusted to life, you are acclimated to humans and your trust is brutally betrayed.  I can only imagine those poor, defenseless pups trying their absolute hardest to get away and make it to safety.

The HSUS has a counter up on the website displaying the number of seals that have been killed thus far.  It is disturbing to see that it is practically one every 15-30 seconds.  There is something we can all do to help stop this from happening ever again.  Please visit www.hsus.org and sign the petition to stop the seal slaughter.  Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers to sign the petition - if we drum up enough support we can put an end to it!

Life on this Earth is meant to be enjoyed and as human beings it is our job to make sure the world and it’s inhabitants are safe from harm.  What does killing poor, defenseless creatures tell us about ourselves?  What kind of people are we to stand back and allow this to happen?  If you’re like me, reading about the seal slaughter will outrage you and make you sad - I urge you to help me raise awareness about it and help to put a stop to it.  

Please leave me your comments on this topic, I am very interested in what you have to say about it.  I look forward to reading and posting your comments, and I am hoping many of you will simply comment and say that you’ve signed the petition.

As always thanks for reading!  Your participation in comments and discussions are encouraged and greatly appreciated!!