- A prominent animal rights group has pledged to make Canada's
seal hunt Paul Martin's worst nightmare in a likely spring election campaign.
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- Of course, the seal hunt itself is something of a nightmare
-- a largely unregulated and gruesome slaughter of mammals. The seals frequently
are skinned alive or, still conscious, dragged by sharpened boat hooks
through the skull across the ice on to sealing boats.
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- The Ottawa-based International Fund for Animal Welfare
in a recent poll found 60 per cent of Canadians aren't aware the hunt remains
a going concern.
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- In 1982, the hunt was all but curtailed in response to
collapsed European markets. But the pursuit -- mainly off Newfoundland,
carried out in early spring -- was renewed in 1996 with ever-larger quotas
being granted since then.
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- Last year, Ottawa sanctioned the killing of nearly a
million seals over three years. Since many seals never get taken by the
sealers -- they're shot, slip into the water and drown before collection
-- the numbers in fact killed will be far greater, predicts Rebecca Aldworth,
an IFAW campaigner, herself a Newfoundlander.
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- She has witnessed the hunt up close and describes it
as "the largest and most brutal slaughter of marine mammals anywhere
in the world."
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- "I see them shooting seals and leaving them to writhe
around in agony until they get around to finishing them off."
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- In March of 2003 she watched "sealers running across
the ice, clubbing each baby seal once on the head -- not to kill it, just
to immobilize it.
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- "They would go back and club a seal once or twice
on the head. They would begin to cut the animal open and it would begin
to struggle...
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- "It was horrific."
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- Probably no more horrific than slaughterhouse goings-on.
But the seal hunt differs in that it's conducted in remote areas with little
oversight; and at the rate seals are being taken the hunt isn't sustainable.
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- The industry sanitizes the activity, she contends. The
hunt is referred to as a "seal fishery." The word harvest is
used instead of kill. And sealers contend they no longer kill the white-coated
seal pups.
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- They neglect to mention a seal is no longer a pup after
just 12 days. "Make no mistake, this is still very much a hunt for
baby seals," she says.
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- Ms. Aldworth has monitored the hunt for five years now
and says seals are sentient beings, responsive to humans. She'll escort
a group of Russian journalists to the floes in March.
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- Sealers don't mind being videotaped, she says. They know
the department of fisheries and oceans isn't keen to follow up on any illegal
stuff that goes on. Seals don't vote, nor do they pay taxes.
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- Sealers do vote and argue the hunt is a crucial part
of their seasonal livelihood. Newfoundland fishermen also favour a seal
cull because they fear the seals eat codfish they'd prefer to catch.
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- However, scientists have never found any definitive link
between the cod shortage and the seals' diet.
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- Ms. Aldworth says the hunt provides no more than $1,000
in income for each of 4,000 sealers annually.
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- The reason the IFAW has launched its cross-Canada media
campaign this week is to let Canadians know what's happening in an area
that is out of sight and out of mind, and to warn Mr. Martin this will
be an election issue.
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- The hunt gives Canada an international black eye and
isn't worth it, Ms. Aldworth insists, leaving on my desk as she departs
colour photographs of the seal hunt.
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- The pictures show what Ms. Aldworth has just detailed
in words.
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- It is horrendous.
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- - byaffe@png.canwest.com
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- © The Vancouver Sun 2004
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- http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/columnists/story.html
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