by Oxpictus

Created on: January 11, 2009

There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the babyHarp Seal hunt in Canada. If you are not familiar with the details, Canadian fishermen go out onto the ice floes in winter, and, as the mother Harp Seals are nursing and nurturing their babies- anywhere from 12 days old to 3 months old- fishermen will club the babies, and skin them on the spot.

Veterinarians who have done post-mortem examinations on skinned baby Harp Seals have reported that in 42% of the cases, baby seals did not show enough cranial damage to guarantee unconsciousness, at the time of skinning! Think about it, 42% of the 350,000 little baby seals (147,000 baby seals!) were CONSCIOUS when they were SKINNED! There is every indication from sources such as journalists, parliamentarians and scientists who document their observations of the seal hunt every year.

It is beyond comprehension that any thinking person could possibly wear the fur of these babies, who may have been fully aware and conscious and incapable of escaping from the unbearable pain while these barbarians skinned them.

The income from this carnage only accounts for 5% of the income of the Canadian fisherman. Do they need the money so much, that they can commit such barbaric acts? Over the past 10 years approximately 1/2 of ALL seal pups have been slaughtered by these heartless commercial seal hunters. Because Harp Seals reach breeding age at 6 years of age, the impacts and implications of this massive, bloody hunt are only now starting to be felt.

Another unbelievable myth is that "The seal population is "exploding". Hogwash. During the 1950s and 1960s the baby Harp Seal populations were reduced by 50%, and today's levels of killing these babies will exceed those figures! Baby Harp Seals already have many natural predators including Polar Bears, whales and the occasional shark, and now must try to survive climate change! As ice floes decline, so does the habitat for sustainable Harp Seal births and nurturing, during their infancy.

Myths abound, and include the supposed "Harp Seals eating too many fish"; fact is, Harp Seals-whether baby or adult- consume less than 3% of catch available to fishermen.

Over $20 Million in Canadian subsidies have been provided to Canadian Harp Seal hunters from 1995-2001. Even as recently as 2004, $400,000 to two Canadian corporations, to process and develop Harp Seal "products"!

National public opinion, whether by way of humane animal organizations or opinions of Canadians at large, show that a whopping majority (69%) oppose baby Harp Seal hunts, and commercial seal hunts, in general."An even higher percentage oppose the inherent aspects of the hunt such as killing of the seals."(Humane Society International, Canada)

Would you wear the skins of baby Harp Seals that were skinned while they were alive and conscious while they were being skinned?

Each person reading this needs to ask themselves this, search their souls as to whether or not they could do this.

I know that there is no way, that I could support any industry that could commit the carnage that has been committed upon the Harp Seal. I have boycotted Canadian Fishing products for more than 10 years.

For those who may feel the same as I do, you can access details of the boycott on Canadian Fishing Products on the PETA website, to whom I have donated any proceeds from this article.

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