Why Have a Day of Action for Grey
Seals?
Slaughter of grey seal pups Hay Island 2008
photo HSI Canada
Each year in Nova Scotia, hundreds of defenceless seal
pups are brutally slaughtered in their nursery grounds by
Nova Scotia fishermen armed with crude wooden bats and boxcutters.
In past years, this slaughter was conducted in secret, with
no DFO presence to ensure sealers were using so-called "humane
harvesting methods". Indeed, the majority of Nova Scotians
were not even aware this atrocity was even happening.
In 2008 Minister of Environment Mark Parent bowed to pressure
from the fishing industry and DFO and authorized fishermen
to enter upon Hay Island, part of the Scaterie Island Protected
Wilderness Area in Cape Breton, and slaughter up to 2,500
grey seal pups. When fishermen left the island, 1,261 baby
seals were dead and only 40 or so unmoulted pups remained
on the island. This slaughter, however, was not conducted
in secret. Despite DFO's best efforts to keep them away,
representations of Humane Society International Canada and
Atlantic Canadian Anti-Sealing Coalition traveled to Hay
Island and captured on film the brutality and cruelty of
the grey seal kill.
Boxcutters used to slice open pups
photo HSI Canada
This year, newly-appointed Environment Minister David Morse
once again ignored science and ethics, bowed to fishing
industry pressure and once more allowed up to 2,200 defenceless
seal pups to be slaughtered in their nursery grounds in
protected space. Days after fishermen lamented there being
no markets for seal products, they butchered 200 seal pups
for their skin to be used as "samples" for "potential
buyers". DFO kept this trip to Hay Island a secret,
as they were desperate to conduct the slaughter in secret,
with no cameras present to capture the cruelty this year.
Grey seal pup - Hay Island 2008
photo HSI/Mark Glover
Make no mistake - the grey seal hunt in Nova Scotia is
NOT a commercial hunt. Fishermen cannot
even attempt to justify it as a commercial hunt for "much-needed
income" or "full utilization of the animal".
There is NO market for grey seal products.
The flesh is not safe for consumption by humans or animals.
Their skins are inferior in quality to those of harp pups
and with more than 10,000 harp skins sitting in inventory
unsold from last year, it is highly unlikely grey skins
would sell. There was no market for the 200 pups slaughtered
this past week - they were slaughtered for their skin to
be shown as "samples" to a "potential client".
This is a cull with the sole objective to exterminate
grey seals in a misguided belief that killing seals will
benefit fish stocks. Nova Scotia fishermen ignore
science and bitterly blame seals for the collapse of groundfish
stocks and their failure to rebound. Their blame is misplaced
- the blame lies squarely with human overfishing. Seals
are being used as a scapegoat by government and fishing
industry. NS fishermen will not be happy until they have
removed every seal from our waters. The government of Nova
Scotia and Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans is
assisting them in reaching this goal.
Grey seals in Nova Scotia are completely helpless and at
the mercy of humans. It is our responsibility to speak for
those with no voice; to protect those who cannot protect
themseleves. The fishing industry has stated that it will
not let up the pressure on the federal Department of Fisheries
and Oceans for access to Sable Island seals. We must put
as much pressure on the Canadian government to continue
to refuse access to Sable Island.It's time to send a message
to the governments of Nova Scotia and Canada, to the fishing
and the sealing industry -- HANDS OFF THE GREY SEALS OF
NOVA SCOTIA!!!! |
