IFAW/Stewart Cook, HO/AP
DCL
We here in the United States have a fair share of preposterous environmental sins on our hands. So forgive me if this post ventures into pot calling the kettle black territory—but I cannot fathom the rationale for Canada's continued, gruesome annual 'tradition' of brutally bashing in the skulls of hundreds of thousands of baby seals.
Yes, Canada's infamous seal hunt has begun again, and, like clockwork, the controversy kicks into gear along with it. But even if the longstanding arguments in defense of the practice—that seal populations are skyrocketing and are contributing to the decline of fisheries, and that it provides work for now unemployed fishermen—held water, there would still have to be a far more humane solution to the problem. Just watch this video if you dare, of how far from humane the seal hunt continues to be to this day (warning: video is graphic).
And if you ask me, those arguments do not hold water—there have got to be more rational ways of dealing with a growing seal population, and a more sustainable way to create jobs for out of work fishermen.
So what can you do, if you feel strongly about stopping the carnage? PETA offers one option...
PETA can be nutty, granted. But the animal rights organization has a point on this one—there's no viable reason this slaughter should go on. So, they propose you send a letter to Canada's Olympic Committee urging them to take action against the hunt (the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver). They have a letter already drafted, you just need to fill in some simple info and they'll send it off.
You can also head over to Stop the Seal Hunt, a website with plenty of detailed information on how to get involved. Or, join the Humane Society's boycott of Canadian seafood while the slaughter goes on.
It truly distresses me that in 2009 I still need to be writing articles about stopping the practice of clubbing baby seals to death. Let's hope the chorus of opposing voices grows ever louder—and with your help it can—and perhaps we'll see a change in 2010.
