As many of you will know, I have Canadian citizenship in addition to British/EU citizenship.
However, today is a sad day to be a Canadian with the news that the senseless annual seal ‘cull’ has started. By the time the cull ends in a few weeks time, it is expected that the entire quota of 325,000 animals will be killed.
Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada is a victim of an “international propaganda campaign”, and insists that the cull will be carried out humanely.
However Roger Simone of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans admits this is “an annual harvest and it is based on economics… It is harvesting animals on a sustainable basis”.
Which kind of puts pay to the feeble excuse that this is about controlling seal numbers. It’s not. It’s soley about money.
And it all seems very sad considering the industry around selling seal pelts, meat and other derivative commodities must pale into insignificance when tallied against Canada’s wider economy.
There have been some far more distressing, graphic images to come out of recent culls, which I’m not to going to reproduce here.
However I would appeal those who feel the cull is reasonable to check out the IFAW’s website for an alternative perspective [WARNING: this site contains images of dead seals, skinned seals, and seals in the process of being clubbed to death].
The images I’ve seen appal and sicken me, and if they sicken you, I urge you to download the IFAW’s report “Seal and Sealing in Canada 2006” and sign the petition to be delivered to Prime Minister Harper.