Seal Hunt Activists & Reuters Reporters Arrested
27/03/2006 09:49 - (SA)
Ottawa - A group of animal rights activists observing Canada’s annual harp seal hunt were arrested on Sunday for getting too close to hunters killing the animals off the eastern coast, officials said.
The six activists belong to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which says the hunt is cruel and should be scrapped. This year, about 325 000 young seals will be shot and clubbed to death on ice floes, mainly for their pelts.
In addition to six activists, a freelance cameraman working for Reuters Television was detained. They were on board a small craft near the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, and they broke the law by coming within 10m of the hunters, officials said. They were later all released.
“We’ll investigate, get statements and then decide whether to charge them,” said Roger Simon of the federal fisheries and oceans ministry, which is overseeing a hunt which started on Saturday.
NEWS24.com …
If you read further on news24, you will find this:
“Unseasonably warm weather means the ice is much more broken up than usual, forcing hunters to shoot seals one by one rather than clubbing them en masse on the floes. ”
- Now I think the Ice being so thin and being a danger to people is a good reason not to let too many seal hunters on ice, but to force the press and activists to stay away 10m from seal hunters, I can’t imagine it’s for their safety since a seal weights some hundred kilos, doesn’t it?
“Rebecca Aldworth of the HSUS told Reuters by satellite phone that angry hunters had also thrown seal flippers and carcasses at the activists. She said she would ask Canadian police to charge those responsible.”
- Now I guess who really should get a 10m limitation should be the seal hunters to the reporters and activists.. seems when they are in a blood rage that they can’t difference a seal from a human anymore 
“Celebrities such as former French film star Brigitte Bardot and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney last week pleaded with Ottawa to end the hunt.”
- Haha.. Even if Jesus Christ himself apeared to ask for a favor.. who the fuck cares anymore?
“Canadian officials deny the hunt is inhumane and say it provides a boost to the local economy while keeping a harp seal population of over five million in check.”
- WOW, now that’s a number! 5 Million Pelts waiting to be killed as they grow… I wonder how fast these seals can multiply themselves and also I’d like to know… what IF they could not breed as fast as they are being killed.. would there be enough reasons to kill the last seal because there are so many people depending on their FUR ?
April 8th, 2006 at 6:17 am
has the world stoped?
April 11th, 2006 at 7:30 pm
Don’t worry lad, the world is here, moving around. We stopped for a breathe and a hope that more people will be aware on what you say!
Do something? I’m not sure. Ten years ago there was a whole thing in Greece about the seal ‘monahus monahus’, environmental groups - I was part in one of them - even built a settler. What happened? Out of 200 in the beginning on 90s there are less than 20 now!!! Who killed them? Unknown. What the environmentalists did? Probably watching the latest documentary produced from the green party in their comfortable sitting room and their bright new flat screen television.
Sorry I sound bitter, but this is a reality I saw the last fifteen years and it hurts so much it makes you feel sick and say “oh, f#$k off all of you, I’m going to give my own fight with my per” something I presume you doing your self!!!
April 16th, 2006 at 3:15 am
It is a shame to hear the only people calling themselves “environmentalists” are people that actually don’t do more than complain and perhaps do it for other reasons than those they claim.
But at least that is better than having nobody say or do anything. Actually I think Many problems of this world are a bit more complex than we think and I also have noticed that traditions and “routines” are one of the biggest cause for massive ignorance. Many schools here in mexico are really bad and there aren’t enough good teachers that care and probably if you haven’t got enough money it will be better to stay out of school, since they can fill your head with political shit… Today it’s not about knowledge anymore or honour, its al political and everything “good” has another side…
So for the moment I’d be glad to simply know there are more people out there that are aware of our indirect faults in many problems and hopefully our children will learn that the world’s balance is in our hands and that there are no excuses to run blind digging up new problems if the ones we have haven’t been solved.