What do you think of the seal hunt?

[toxicpiano 125]

I imagine people in India think that us eating cows is barbaric (or Hindus in general). You can't force culture to change because you disagree with it.

[spa 970]

Well maybe I should leave this one alone but I'm a Nova Scotian so I can't just seem to give it a miss. I'm fine with the seal hunt. I'm not a huge supporter or anything, but I don't see what's any different then going out and hunting seals compared to hunting and using other animals. A lot of our industrial farm animals have a lot more miserable lives then seals do. It's not like seals are an endangered species. In fact, since we have almost eliminated the Orcas from the Atlantic and reduced shark population, their numbers have grown. Sealing has been a traditional way of life in Atlantic Canada for hundreds of years (since people first settled here really) and it is an important economic activity in a lot of small outports that have very little else. The lucky seal was just blessed with big doe eyes and cute babies (FYI there is no harvesting of baby seals) that have given them supporters that cows and chickens and other "ugly" animals don't have. 

There is a lot of selective condemnation here. Different cultures use animals in different ways. The guy who started this thread lives in Japan and is quite happy to throw rocks at Canada while Japan goes out killing hundreds of whales a year for "research." The Germans and other Europeans have no problem going into the wilderness to blast at vastly diminished bear and boar populations. The Spanish have plundered Europe's waters of most fish. As toxicpiano points out, the hindus probably consider McDonalds the biggest sin ever. What I'm saying is that maybe, just maybe, people should take a step back and look at their own societies before lashing out at others.

[krbe 193]

The Holy Hindu cows were holy because they needed to be protected back then; now, there are so many of them that they are a nuisance many places. A Norwegian TV-crew telling stories from India visited a rural village, were the villagefolks were driving the cows in the village together, up on a truck, and drove them to the neightbouring village and released them there, so that they would have the cow problem. Quite funny show actually

[granto93 4]

TRNSTN: okay, about your "livelihood and tradition" comment. Just to inform you, Newfoundland is a rocky island in the middle of the Atlantic, which means you cant farm and these communities that the sealers live in range between 10 and maybe 2000 people, most of them being three digit. There are no other options for these sealers/fishermen. No decent sized business in their right mind is gonna set up in a small community like that and if it did it wouldnt be able to employ all the sealers. These people either have to move away or legally hunt seals. And im sure a bunch of tree huggers or nut jobs in a protest boat are not going to stop them from doing their job. Im sure if there were other options they would consider.

And about your "brutality against lesser forms" comment. Thats, exactly what they are...lesser forms. We are at the top of the food chain so we have an ability to hunt pretty much whatever we want/need to survive. Im sure if we were floating around on ice pans and seals had guns they would kill us in a heartbeat to get a good meal I know that may not sound logical but its the truth. Higher forms have the luxury of being able to do that.

[belfastuniguy 18]

And about your "brutality against lesser forms" comment. Thats, exactly what they are...lesser forms. We are at the top of the food chain so we have an ability to hunt pretty much whatever we want/need to survivequote>

While I understand and accept the reason for the annual seal hunt the above statement is a somewhat dangerous idea to have.

Many could use that arguement to explain their reason for killing lions, elephants, whales, pandas and a lot more besides. Things such as sheep and cows are completely different as they have been bred and farmed for hundreds of years. We don't have 'wild' cows that roam the countryside, they are bred purely for food.

I certainly in no way condone the killing of endangered animals just becuase they are 'lesser forms'.

[Wrightguy0 40]

I have to look at both sides of the issue, on the one hand the killing of wild animals is not right, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it murder. Murder is defined as one human killing another either out of hate, fear or passion. not one human killing a wild animal. I do think it's sad that 300'00 animals have to die but think about it, if you take away the seal hunt what will happen to the people? The seal hunt is often the only form of income for many island families and whole towns base their economies on the hunt. If the seal hunt didn't happen there would be no jobs for thousands of people, and face it Newfoundland is not known for it's abundance of jobs. many people (children included) will become destitute living off the federal government, the out migrgration from Newfoundland would be huge and many of the remaining costal towns will die. Sure we save seals but what about the people, remember, they only do this because there are no other jobs. that's what happens when you have a sea based economy. And no these people can't just turn over and work in the fishing industry, cause if you haven't noticed that's not doing too well either. So while I don't like the seal hunt I recognize that it's the onlything keeping parts of Newfoundland alive.

[patriots_1228 51]

TRSNT: well, if we were playing by the rules of nature like in my example, yes, it would be considered normal for a husband to beat his wife. However, thats different, a Husband should not beat his wife because he made a commitment to her when he married her, and if he loved her, he would not beat her. But we make no commitments to animals, other than to say "yum" when we eat steak.

And I don't blame India for thinking cows are holy....how else could they taste so good?

[granto93 4]

belfastunguy: well, there is no need to kill pandas or elephants etc, i dont think people eat them. What im saying is that if we need something to survive and we have the tools to get it, why not? Im not just saying kill lesser forms for no reason, just if we need them. Thats what the whole food chain is based upon, the lesser forms are toward the bottom because the higher forms need them to survive, and they are easier prey than attacking a higher or greater form. whatever you want to call it. Now, as i said before, the seals are a lesser form, we need them, we kill them. Its a simple concept and a part of nature.

Wrightguy0: exactly my point. We don't have many of any alternatives. We have our oil industry etc but im sure not everybody in rural Newfoundland are qualified to work on an oil rig. And, these people have been fishing and sealing their entire lives. Its really all they know. And what you said about out-migration is completely true. If the sealers are going to move to St. John's for work they may as well go to the mainland for higher pay.

I know this is complicated for some of you protesters to understand but we need this hunt, you don't. I think its plain ignorant for anyone to come and make these hunters look like evil criminals or to stop the seal hunt by saying "find alternatives". There are NO alternatives for these people. Im sorry if 275 000 out of 5 million seals are going to get killed but thats life, get used to it. I should probably leave this alone because i know im repeating myself but i just feel obligated to knock the facts into your heads and also note, i understand your beliefs and stuff but quite frankly, being able to feed your children is much more important than listening to a bunch of hippies shouting at you to stop.

[TRNSTN 0]

patriots_1228 Sorry, I love steak, so yes I see your point about that obligation, or non-obligation ha. But still, I think there's some level of responsibility, or care-taking we need to do as the highest beings.

Wrightguy0: Are all 300,000 seals killed are for food purposes? Are the seals completely used? Are they killed in the most humane way? I will drop my anti-hunting stance if you can truly say all 300,000 seals are killed solely for food purposes. I'm not against hunting for sustenance, but I am against hunting for fashion. If Newfoundland depends on the sick side of fashion well them maybe Newfoundland's economy needs to make some changes in the 21st century. Fish farming was destroyed because of over fishing and destructive fishing practices (ocean trawlers) so there are always limits.

[threeswept 12]

Funny, how this topic is still mulling around the concept of eating the seal meat. The hunt, for most part, has nothing to do with feeding your family with seal meat...at least for the commercial sealers. It's about the skin. So, how about a nice little trip over to YouTube and a search for IFAW Seal Hunt 2008. That will pull up some nice graphic film footage of the current seal hunt on "beaters", or baby seal/pups...which, as I stated earlier are hunted. It isn't just the old seals...I mean, who wants to spend their hard earned money on old, scarred skin, right?

Anyway, there on YouTube, you will find footage of carcasses left after the skins have been removed. No need for the meat. It just sits and rots on the ice. If the meat and other bits of the mammal were being utilised by the mass commercial sealers I might think differently on this. And, I seem to recall that the hunt is subsidised by the Canadian government with Canadian taxpayer's dollars. So, I guess it's not as much as necessity as some make it out to be if it has to be subsidised. Maybe these so-called commercial sealers who so desparately need food to feed their families should be a little more concerned about the leaving the meat to rot...but, no, it's really rather about selling the hides. Maybe the world wouldn't look at this issue as negatively if the commercial sealers weren't killing mammals just for the hide. I mean, send some of the meat to the Inuits who are losing their livelihood and hunting grounds due to global warming. Or, better yet, ship the meat to Africa and sell it.

This event, in this case, for me, it's no different than bludgeoning a German Shepard and prancing around thinking how lovely the pelt is as a warm muffler. I mean, the dog is a lower life form and they're for us to eat and wear their fur, right? And, there are millions and millions of them roaming the land.

By the way, I'm no tree-hugger...which is a term that seems to be thrown about this thread. However, I am a person who believes that the earth provides a bounty of flora and fauna for us to survive off of. It just needs to be done responsibly.

[granto93 4]

threeswept: we all know they dont hunt seals to feed to their families, they use the money they make from pelts to buy their basic needs for the winter months when the fishery is non existant. and its not the seal pups that are killed, seal pups have very fluffy white skin, when you see seal skin anything for sale its pretty much always a shade of gray, meaning an older seal. And, that footage you are talking about is probably years old. There are strict rules now about proper disposal of the carcases etc and the prevention of blood baths on the ice. One more point, it is done responsibly, it is only aprx 275 000 seals that will be killed. Over 5 million of them will be on the ice flows so there is no endangerment to the species.

[threeswept 12]

Pups, young seals, whatever you wanna call it, are hunted...as soon as the white fur has molted they can legally be hunted - please see one of my earlier posts regarding "beaters". I mentioned food, because it was brought up several times throughout this thread. The IFAW has released brand new film of the hunt for 2008. And, I did not mention anything about endangerment. I don't recall information about government reps onboard the sealer ships like they are on fish trollers making sure that things are done correctly. So, it's rather dodgy to think that the remains are disposed of properly.

[Ded 30]

I'm anti the seal hunt. But I don't eat meat, so I guess I'm biased.

[granto93 4]

threeswept: no...they are not hunted. The younger mature seals are killed but never the pups. And yes, once the light fur had molted they can be hunted meaning they are mature. Also, the government does monitor the seal hunt very closely ensuring it is done properly. This is from the Seal Hunt FAQ on the DFO's website:

"Fishery Officers conduct surveillance of the seal hunt by means of aerial patrols, at-sea patrols, dockside inspections of vessels at landing sites and inspections at buying/processing facilities. Independent observers are also deployed on sealing vessels to monitor compliance with regulations.

DFO works with veterinarians, experienced sealers and industry representatives to ensure the animals are dispatched and processed in the most humane way possible."

The real facts are on the following link. I dont think IFAW, Sea Sheppard, or Greenpeace are reliable sources to find reliable information.

Seals and Seal Hunting in Canada