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Thanks to global warming seal populations are decreasing. To make matters worse, each year, hundreds of thousands of baby seals in Newfoundland are slaughtered for their furs. Over the past three years, over a million seals have been slaughtered in Canada. Most are seal pups under three months old. The seals wail out in pain as they are beaten to death with a club with a sharp hook on the end. They slowly die from their injuries. Some are actually still alive and conscious when they are skinned as evidenced by their blinking eyes. Some of the seals are shot. Unfortunately, they are typically shot from far rang which means they do not die right away. They are not shot a second time to finish them off to stop the suffering, because the extra hole in a seal reduces the value of the fur by $2.00. Video footage of the seal slaughter can be viewed at walklightly.org.Humane and environmental organizations worldwide oppose the slaughter. Humane groups include Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, The ASPCA, and In Defense of Animals. Environmental and conservation groups that condemn the hunt include Earth Island Institute, Oceana, and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Many celebrities including Paul and Heather McCartney and the late Anna Nicole Smith have spoken out against the hunt to try to bring attention to the issue.
The corruption of the Canadian government shows itself during the seal slaughter. Video footage shows the Canadian Coast Guard plowing through the ice for the sealers to get to the seals, something the Canadian government says does not occur. Furthermore, in an effort to stop the world from watching the seal slaughter footage, the Canadian government illegally confiscated some of The Humane Society’s video footage, according to hsus.org. Those recording the seal cull must stay a certain number of feet away from the sealers. The seals know this and run towards those filming so they have to run from them. The government does nothing about this harassment. If the Canadian government does not want the world to know that they subsidize this torture, then why not just end it?
Luckily, there is something we can do as individuals to help. First, we can stop buying fur or fur trimmed garments. Refuse to shop at stores that sell fur such as Macy’s. Purchasing furs drives up the market, thereby, keeping sealers on the ice. Second, we can ask our U.S. senators to support Senate Resolution 118 which is pending in the Senate that would condemn this barbaric, senseless slaughter. We can also read the labels of origin on our seafood and stop purchasing seafood from Canada. Or, we can stop eating seafood altogether. This will help because the sealers make most of the money from the seafood industry. If a Canadian seafood boycott picks up momentum, the sealers will be forced to stop killing the seals. Another step we can take is not to vacation in Canada so they will lose tourism dollars until the seals are safe. Lastly, we can go to http://www.walklightly.org to learn more and tell the Canadian government our opinions on the seal slaughter.
