Hunters To Kill 338,000 Seals In Canada

[G_j]

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Hunters-Begin-Killing-338000-Seals-In-Newfoundland-Canada-For-Use-In-Beauty-Products-And-For-Pelts/Article/200904215258928?f=rss

2:04pm UK, Thursday April 09, 2009

Hunters To Kill 338,000 Seals In Canada

Hunters have begun the slaughter of 63,500 more seals in Canada for their fur and for use in beauty products.

The killings in Newfoundland and Quebec come ahead of another hunt next week which will see a further 188,600 seals slaughtered.

It will bring the total number of deaths in Canada to 338,000 - a 55,000 increase on last year's quota.
The killings come despite a major downturn in the price of the seal's pelts and plans for a European ban on seal products.
Environmental groups have condemned Canada's decision to boost its annual quota, describing the killings as "inhumane slaughter".

Around 19,400 seals have already been killed in the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence, as part of "phase one".
The second phase - the quota of 63,500 - began on Wednesday along the west coast of Newfoundland province and Quebec's lower north shore.

The main hunt - the 188,600 quota - will start April 15 off the northeast coast of Newfoundland.
..more..

[navarth]

1. who buys the fur?

They're just as guilty if not more.

[G_j]

2. No market for pelts overshadows expanded seal hunt quota

http://www.stopthesealhunt.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ihKPIWPCIqE&b=3990411&content_id={1CF3B163-DA52-4D76-8D9E-03E29722D2BA}¬oc=1


No market for pelts overshadows expanded seal hunt quota

(Ottawa, Canada – 8 April 2009) -As Canada’s commercial seal hunt is set to re-open in the Gulf of St. Lawrence today with another 64,000 pups scheduled for slaughter, IFAW welcomes the news that many sealers may not participate in this year’s hunt due to the lack of markets for seal fur.

“Of course we are pleased,” said Sheryl Fink, Senior Researcher with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). “If market conditions ultimately lead to the demise of this inhumane slaughter, that’s fine by us. If our own government won’t stand up for the majority of Canadians who want to see an end to commercial sealing in this country, then maybe the international marketplace will be the deciding factor.”

Recent reports indicate that those processors willing to buy pelts this year are offering a mere $15 a skin, down from over $100 in 2006. Sealers note that at this price, engaging in the seal hunt is not economically viable. Pelt prices of $30 being offered to sealers from the Magdalen Islands last month were accompanied by reports that this included a $9 per pelt subsidy from the province of Quebec, and there are rumors that many pelts from the 20,000 seals reportedly killed were not actually purchased by processors.

“The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) claim that the setting of Total Allowable Catches (TAC) is market-driven is a complete crock,” said Fink. “Were this the case, the TAC would have been reduced, not increased to a level that makes a mockery of their own management plan.”

Last month, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea decided to increase the 2009 TAC to 280,000 harp seals, despite clear warnings from her own scientists that any TAC over 270,000 would not respect the Department’s seal hunt management objective.

“It seems obvious to everyone – except the Conservative government – that commercial sealing is not a viable industry. The only thing keeping this slaughter going now is the steady flow of Canadian taxpayer dollars and the pride of a few politicians desperately trying to hang on to their seats in parliament,” said Fink.

The Conservative government has confirmed its determination to move ahead with the continued waste of taxpayer dollars in support of a dying sealing industry, instead of responding to Canadian public opinion and the global economic downturn. Last week, Minister of International Trade Stockwell Day reiterated the government’s position that any European Union (EU) ban on trade in seal products would be challenged at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“I can’t possibly imagine anything more irresponsible,” said Fink. “A WTO challenge would likely end up costing Canadians untold millions of dollars, all in an attempt to revive a dying market worth, according to Day’s own department, $5.4 million at best.”

“Minister Shea predicted that this year’s hunt would be business as usual,” recalled Fink. “While I have no doubts that the slaughter of seals pups continues to be inhumane, on the business front, she could not have been more wrong.”

For more information:

Kim Cormack Communications Officer – IFAW

Office: [phone] ext. 225

[e-mail]

[closeupready]

3. 338,000 is a lot of seals. What percentage of existing seals does that number represent?

I mean, how many seals ARE there - millions? that would seem hard to believe.

[G_j]

5. The seal hunt is sustainable.

http://www.stopthesealhunt.com/site/c.ihKPIWPCIqE/b.2578143/k.C0E9/Stop_the_Seal_Hunt__Myths_about_the_baby_seal_hunt.htm

Myth #2: The seal hunt is sustainable.

Seal catch quotas set by the Canadian government are much higher than government scientists’ estimates of what is sustainable, and these quotas are allowed to be exceeded. A recent study by IFAW scientists found that the current management approach risks depleting the harp seal herd by as much as 70% in the next 15 years.

The DFO often states that the harp seal population has tripled since the 1970s. However, this ignores the fact that between 1950 and 1970 the harp seal population was reduced by as much as two-thirds from seal hunting. Since 1995, harp seals have been killed at levels similar to those that caused a dangerous decline in the past, and the DFO now admits that the population has decreased.

Climate change is also presenting a new threat to the harp seal population by negatively impacting their breeding habitat. Increasingly, poor ice conditions off the east coast of Canada are causing higher than normal seal pup mortality. For example, government scientists estimate that in 2002, 75% of the seal pups in the Gulf of St. Lawrence died due to a lack of ice before the hunt even began. Yet the government continues to set total allowable catches for harp seals above sustainable levels, putting the population at increased risk.

[Hawkowl]

4. The only reason to hate Canadians

This is the only reason the world can muster up a hatred towards Canada. If Canada abolished the seal hunt, and seal killing subsidies, they truly would be on the path towards most likeable country in the world.

[hugo_from_TN]

6. Processors to slaughter 25 million cows in the U.S. this year.

Not as cute as seals, however.