Superstar Seal Hunt

[mythteller]

I watched the debate between Paul McCartney/Heather Mills and the Newfoundland premier (Danny Williams) on Larry King last night on the Canadian seal hunt. It was largely disappointing, mainly because the McCartney's weren't really answering King's questions; they kept playing the tragedy/sympathy card over and over.

When Premier Danny Williams came on, the "debate" came down to the following:

HM: Now we don't want to tell you what to do, but the seal hunt is wrong and should be stopped! Bad on you Canada! Bad!
DW: You're largely misinformed, probably because you're getting all your intel from activists.
HM: Rubbish! Cute seals are dying every day because you're clubbing them to death!
DW: Actually, 90% are shot in the most humane way possible
PM: No! That's a lie! And because I have a British accent, I'm more believable that you! Seals are going to go extinct if this continues!
DW: Actually, there are over 5 million seals. If we let the seal over-populate the area, they could all starve
HM: More lies! It's perfectly normal for there to be millions and millions of seals! Lies, lies, lies!
DW: Er... I live here so I think I know what's going on in my own province...
HM: Poppycock!

Personally, I think the seal hunt is vilified so much because seals are so cute and adorable. I don't see too many activists jumping up and down about the cruelties of the Woolly Monkey hunt, the unreasonable persecution of the Wombat, or the tragedy of sharks that get caught in fishing nets.

My stand on the issue is that I don't buy fur products. Should you not buy fur products? It's up to you to decide and it's not my job to tell you one way or the other.

In an unrelated vein, we went to see LLO's production of Patience (my friend Colleen was in it). The women in the production were amazing, but the men were... well... let's just say that since talyesin (and others) left, they've been suffering in the male lead department.

Comments

[yukonflower.livejournal.com]

Totally with you on the seal hunt issue. Over population of seals one
of the factors that has continued to deplete the cod stocks after all
the fishing restrictions were applied.

I remember when we had the wolf hunt back home. Over population was
killing of the caribou herds and causing disease in other species. A
woman from Germany wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper calling
us all barbarians for murdering these defenseless animals. A wonderful
response rang out from a local, "stop killing your immigrants and then
we'll talk."

Why aren't people as concerned with the plight of humans as they are
with animals.

[jdhobbes.livejournal.com]

Because the animals don't have a voice, so people think they need more protection than humans who *potentially* have a voice.

As for the depleted cod stocks, I have my huge beef with Spain and their trawlers that cross our sea borders while the ships stay safely on the right side of the border.

As with any issue, the actual situation is much bigger than what's explained to us from any one perspective.

McCartneys Illegally Touched Harp Seal Pup

[(Anonymous)]

During their recent visit to Canada, the McCartneys engaged in illegal activities, but compassionate Canadian authorities will not charge the 2 clueless folks from England

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McCartneys won't be charged
Singer and wife illegally touched harp seal pup

Graeme Hamilton, National Post, Saturday, March 04, 2006

Federal fisheries officers have decided against charging former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and his wife even though their petting and poking of a seal pup off the Magdalen Islands on Thursday was technically illegal.

Canada's Marine Mammal Regulations state: "No person shall disturb a marine mammal except when fishing for marine mammals under the authority of these regulations."



Photographs show Sir Paul and his wife, Heather, patting a white-coated seal pup as they visited the ice floes to protest against the Canadian seal hunt. At one point, the pup took exception to Mrs. McCartney's caresses and snapped at her.

Roger Simon, area director for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in the Magdalen Islands, said the offence was so minor it does not warrant taking the couple to court.

"It's almost like saying you're going 51 kilometres in a 50-kilometre zone," Mr. Simon said.

"If a fishery officer had been present, something like a warning would have probably been issued, saying, 'Well, if these pups are still nursing, we suggest that you don't pet them -- just watch them.' "

A court would have to be shown that the seal had been harmed by the pop star and his wife, Mr. Simon said, and research has shown casual interaction with humans does no lasting damage to young seals.

"She may have bothered [the pup] but I don't think she harmed him," he said, adding that Canada has better uses of its tax dollars than a McCartney trial.

"When disturbance is of such a minor nature, you wouldn't bring someone to court on something like this," he said. "Somebody would say that the Canadian government and the Canadian taxpayers must have better things to do than haul Paul McCartney into court because he touched a seal."

Mr. Simon said Mrs. McCartney was fortunate it was a harp seal pup she stroked and not a grey seal. "The pup you saw yesterday that snapped doesn't even have any teeth," he said. "A grey seal would probably still be grabbing on to her nose. They're a bigger, more vicious animal."

After 20 years working with seals, Mr. Simon has seen a lot of celebrities come and go. "Last year we had MacGyver [televison actor Richard Dean Anderson], we had Loretta Swift [Hot Lips Houlihan from television's M*A*S*H*] one year. One year we had Bobby Kennedy, Jr.," he said. But he was particularly unimpressed with Sir Paul's understanding of the seal hunt. He expected the ex-Beatle would be out of his league in his televised debate with Danny Williams, the Newfoundland Premier.

"Poor Paul, in a debate, would be hard-pressed because he doesn't know very much about the subject," Mr. Simon said. As an example, he noted that Sir Paul suggested to local reporters that the seal hunt be replaced by whale-watching tours. "We're surrounded by ice, and this isn't a whale area. This is where whales pass but never stop, so it wasn't very well-documented or researched," Mr. Simon said.

He called Sir Paul's seal-hunt knowledge "a crash-course, HSUS brainwashing thing." The HSUS is the Humane Society of the United States, which organized the McCartneys' visit.

FISHERIES ACT

Prohibitions (7)

No person shall disturb a marine mammal except when fishing for marine mammals under the authority of these regulations.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/story.html?id=3822bca5-58ba-45f6-91f6-d77fe99291c0

Re: McCartneys Illegally Touched Harp Seal Pup

[jdhobbes.livejournal.com]

Oh this is precious! Thanks for the post Anon! I think the McCartney's should've been formally charged, gauge their reaction, and then decide whether or not to charge them.

Yes, it was quite obvious that the couple got all their information from the activists. It would be tragically funny if the province really did pursue his idea of having seal-watching for tourists, but the tourists ships kept sinking due to hitting icebergs.

It's times like these I wish I could animate stuff.