5. It is only because the seals are cute: False
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and, further, citizens worldwide have proven that they will consistently speak up for the "underdog". Contrary to propaganda from those who support the brutal seal slaughter, many animals considered "non-cute" have had their protectors and lobbyists. Consider the Indiana bat, and this excerpt from Southern Spotlight, August 24, 2005: " Zoologist leads effort to save endangered bats...A group of burly guys will rev up heavy machinery later this week at an old Southern Illinois mine in hopes of saving endangered Indiana bats." Similarly, crocodiles, sloths and countless other species, less "cute" than baby seals, have received their share of media attention and public support.
It must be remembered that cruelty to animals and ecological rape will elicit an emotional – often furious – response from the masses. Whether the issue is the bashing and shooting of helpless seal pups, the desecration of rain forests, or the poaching of elephants, concerned people around the globe will unite to defend the environment and innocent animals.
6. The hunt is humane: False
In 2001, a report by an independent team of veterinarians who studied the hunt concluded that governmental regulations regarding humane killing were neither being respected nor enforced, and that the seal hunt failed to comply with Canada's basic animal welfare standards. Shockingly, the veterinarians found that in 42% of the cases they studied, the seals had likely been skinned alive while conscious.
Parliamentarians, journalists, and scientists who observe Canada's commercial seal hunt each year continue to report unacceptable levels of cruelty, including sealers dragging conscious seals across the ice floes with boat hooks, shooting seals and leaving them to suffer in agony, stockpiling dead and dying animals, and even skinning seals alive.
Also, it is important to note that Canada has antiquated animal cruelty laws which shockingly date back to 1892! Despite years and years of lobbying by animal protection groups and millions of caring Canadian citizens, the Canadian government refuses to update these archaic laws and immense animal torture barely receives a finger wag.
With medieval animal cruelty laws dating back to the 19th Century, what right does the Canadian government have to tell the world that this slaughter of baby seals is humane? How would they even know how to identify animal cruelty?
7. The seal hunt is economically justifiable: False
Recent news reports have brought to light that a Norwegian company has destroyed 10,000 harp seal skins This revelation contradicts claims of strong markets for seal products.
Norwegian media outlets recently reported that the top buyer of Canadian seal pelts, Norwegian based GC Rieber, was paid by the Norwegian government to destroy 10,000 harp seal skins. GC Rieber is considered the economic backbone of the Canadian sealing industry, each year buying 50 to 80 percent of the skins from seals killed during the annual seal hunt in Canada. Slain Canadian seals account for more than 90 percent of Rieber's seal skin business.
"For years we've suspected some form of price rigging through hidden government subsidies - now we have proof," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of Canadian wildlife issues for The Humane Society of the United States. "These revelations demonstrate that the Canadian seal hunt, in addition to being cruel and inhumane, is also economically unjustified."
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