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Canada Seal Hunt gets Under Way


Guest Lottie

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Guest Lottie

Fishermen in Canada have begun what is expected to be one of the biggest seal-hunting seasons in decades.

The hunters returned to the ice floes after the government gave the go-ahead for more than 300,000 seals to be killed this year.

Authorities say the hunt is now more humane and that the rising seal population needs to be controlled.

As in previous years, animal rights groups are campaigning against the hunt, which they say is cruel.

The activists also say Canada is trying to appease fishing communities for political reasons.

The fishermen blame the seals for the devastation of Canada's fish stocks and have pressed for a renewed culling.

The two-month hunt takes place on ice floes off the Atlantic coast, where the seals give birth.

Earlier this month, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a statement that Canada's seal population was healthy and abundant.

"The harp seal herd - the most important seal herd for this industry - is estimated at around five million animals, nearly the highest level ever recorded, and almost triple what it was in the 1970s."

Boycott

Large-scale hunting will be allowed to continue until the number falls to under four million.

One official told the AFP news agency: "We have to do our job responsibly. We are looking at the middle ground, taking into account conservation and the economic needs of the region."

But anti-hunt activists, who say many animals are skinned alive and die in agony, say they will press ahead with a boycott of Canadian seafood.

"I think that [the Canadian government] are feeling the heat... they can see the really serious implication of going ahead with the hunt this year," said Pat Ragan of the Humane Society of the United States.

"We're going to be encouraging consumers to enter into dialogue with their grocery stores and their restaurants and say, 'Please don't serve Canadian seafood,' or, 'I won't buy Canadian seafood until this hunt is over'," she told Reuters news agency.

The seal hunt in Newfoundland and Labrador went into decline some 25 years ago, after images of hunters clubbing infant seals horrified TV viewers across the world.

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Words...really can't describe how disgusted I am with this practice....

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Why do Canadians allow clubbing them...if the herd has to be thinned there are far more humane ways to do it... angry.gif

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Under new guidelines, most seals are meant to be shot and not clubbed to death in a bid to make the killing more humane.

They shouldnt be clubbing them....

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You don't see hunters going around clubbing the deer to death, why should it be any different with seals. This world is full of some really ******* mean people! angry.gif

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Words...really can't describe how disgusted I am with this practice....

i may be wrong but i thought they were doing it to control numbers to avoid overpopulation and the eventual strvation of a far larger number?

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Although I rarly eat seafood due to the fact that it is expensive in Alberta. Hunting is fun and a good way to balance the ecosystem because most of the preditors are wiped out. But you hunt with a BOW AND ARROW or A GUN, if you want to kill an animal make it as quick, painless, and humane as possible! Anyways they are fishing for sharks right? So if they stopped killing the preditors then they wouldn't have too many seals in the first place.

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I can't understand why they kill the little ones though. Kill the ones that have atleast had a chance to live.

This world is full of some really ******* mean people!

Well whenever i worked on a c*** fighting farm i had to break chicks necks and wack half dead roosters against trees. And i was only 6 at the time. You do what the boss tells you to do or starve. Or atleast that was how it was with me.

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I guess it has to be done to keep the populatin down to a level where it doesn`t affcet other species in the nearby area, but it still doesn`t stop me being disgusted at it.

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I dont agree with clubing them to death,a bullit thriugh the head would do the trick

May be they get some sort of kick out of it,a sort of pervy killing

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Yeah, I don't agree with clubbing them to death. A gun shot would be better. Then again... you do club some fish to kill them after you get them in the boat so would that be considered bad to?

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Yeah... I'm gunna keep my mouth shut on this one. disgust.gif

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the seal hunt went on long before greenpeace made anyone aware of it, and it should continue.

i don't think the seals are necessarily responsible for dwindling fish stocks(cod) off the coast of newfoundland, but this is a pastime and source of income for many of the fishermen on the east coast of canada.

greenpeace, originally an organization out of vancouver, was looking for something in the 70's to draw the world's attention to itself and it's cause, and so they went after the fishermen of the east coast, because they knew the clubbing of cute baby seals would help their cause, and in the end get them more money and support.

the people who participate in the hunt, rely on this income, and the seal meat.

and they never went out there looking to kill all the seals, as they wanted to be able to hunt the following year, and the seal population was kept in check because of this.

if hunting has become a way of life and support for a certain culture, we should not be able to dictate that they stop because we, who do not eat seal meat, and do not wear seal mukluks, find it distasteful.

get yourself to newfoundland and have a piece of seal flipper pie.

and see how important it is for the people there.

but once europe banned the sale, the hunt

sorry, i can't stop with the rants today.

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All I can say is its a good thing that cows aren’t cute furry things. Not sure I want green peace at my next BBQ.

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Cows are cute furry things and I wouldn't want one killed by beating it on the head. I'm sure they don't all do it that way, but there are probably a lot of people still using that method.

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Cows are cute furry things and I wouldn't want one killed by beating it on the head. I'm sure they don't all do it that way, but there are probably a lot of people still using that method.

548838[/snapback]

Cows are killed by what is known as a bolt gun. It is essentialy a little retractable club in a barrel.

From what I understand from visiting Newfoundland is it a humane death for the little critters if the hunter is properly trained in useing his tool/club. Like those that hunt with bows and spears, improper techniques result in the animal suffering.

They use this method of kill because it is quite and does not disturb the rest of the herd. A gun shot would result in panic among the herd.

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I am just wondering how fast the seals die, and what kind of clubs they use and such. If they hit them over the head or in the neck couldn't they die instantly.

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I am just wondering how fast the seals die, and what kind of clubs they use and such. If they hit them over the head or in the neck couldn't they die instantly.

548887[/snapback]

If the proper techniques are used it is instant death and painless. The club itself is like a larger version of the fish bonker.

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If the proper techniques are used it is instant death and painless.

Oh ok, but if it's an instant death then whats the difference between shooting it or just clubbing it over the head huh.gif

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If the proper techniques are used it is instant death and painless.

Oh ok, but if it's an instant death then whats the difference between shooting it or just clubbing it over the head huh.gif

548918[/snapback]

none, other than bullets are expensive and noisy

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I think the club would actually be more humane than shooting them. You hit 'em in the head and they won't feel a thing. The aftermath is messy, though.

[image removed per request]

I was just wanted people to see how it's done. Shooting them would not kill them as quickly.

Edited by Redneck
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Thank you...

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Hey, hey, hey!! I'm Canadian and I DO NOT Aproove of this totally bull****, I should be allowed to swear on this one because its absolutely fitting with whats going on, its definately not cool. Its some stupid ignorant people following tradition, some traditions suck, I know it, you know it. E'ff your tradition, bub.

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i think the reason why they dont shoot the animals is due the the damage the bullets do to the pelt.. as a lot of fashion houses (vuitton for one) use them in their clothing line.

you have to belt the animal with the club pretty darn hard to kill them.. nine times out of ten, you only will stun an animal if you beat them.. we had to learn to kill rats, mice, and rabbits (not physically.. only by video) in such a way where the animal would only be stunned, and then you had to break their neck to finish the job.. i personally could not ever shoot an animal or club it.. the only way i could destroy an animal is by lethal injection (lethebarb)

still, even if this is supposed to be culling, i think it is horrendous. its not human by a long stretch. and then the skinned bodies are just left out in the open.. if an animal is going to be killed. at least use the flesh to feed someone or something.. dont let it die for no great reason other than its pelt

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