Jenny’s Blog

We can still eat at Red Lobster, right?

In the Province of Newfoundland/Labrador the EI program requires that the minimum anual family income must not exceed 20,000 - 30,000 dollars per household. In 2006, the EI program required a person to work 420 hours (not exceeding an anual family income of $30,000). If the total hours is not meet, then the person would be required to work 910 hours in 2007. So, between a small family of 2 people they must work 840 hours but not make more than 30,000 dollars. Yes, most people would say than work full time all year round, but keep in mind that the minimun wage is $6.75 for adults. At minimun wage, the people of this province are living of $1080.00 per month. They still pay just as much money for housing and hydro. They still have the same bills as you and I. So after paying your rent, hydro, cable, telephone bills how much money do you have left over for food when you start with $1080.

Many Newfie/Labradorians rely on seal meat as a main diet to feed their families. Not only do they eat seal to survive but also wild duck, turr, moose and carribou. So when you go to the store and buy your pork, lamb, beef and VEAL (which is in fact BABY cow) take note of how much you spent on these things. Is it that hard to believe that substituting these meats for wild ones is a necessity for some, rather than a barbaric act. Perhaps, you don’t even eat meat. You think the killing of ANY animal is barbaric. You, with your vitamin supplements and your soy milk. Go down to a small town in Labrador. Look for soy milk and green salads. You’ll be more likely to find carrots, cabbage, potatoes and turnip, because those are the only vegetables you will find. They don’t have the luxury of vegetarian friendly groceries. So, personally people I think you should cut these “archaic, barbarians” some slack, they don’t have much but they do a damn good job with what they do have!

Jamie, I appreciate you pointing out the important facts that indeed, some of the seal meat goes to feed families. It is important, and I do believe that feeding people should come first. I have a problem with the slaughter of BABY seals simply for their fur. These pelts go to the wealthy in Europe and Asia to wear simply as a status symbol. The practice is barbaric and inhumane, as the baby seals are bludgeoned to death. Oftentimes their rotting carcasses are left on the ice after they have been skinned, sometimes while they are alive. If this was only about starving Canadians, why are so many of the bodies of the seals left behind?? This is obviously about selling the skin and making some quick money. My statement is about the fact that over 300,000 BABY seals are allowed to be slaughtered each year, simply so some wealthy Europeans can wear their fur.

By the way, I eat meat very sparingly, and never eat veal. Of course I realize that is a baby cow. I have no problem with the eating habits of the Labradorians, but I can’t imagine they can eat well over a million pounds of baby seals each year. Especially since they supplement it with caribou, and the other animals you mentioned above.

The Seal hunt that takes place on the East Coast of Canada Do NoT Kill Baby Seals.The seals that are killed are older seals. The Killing of Baby seals took place years ago and was banded on the East Coast. The IFAW are still using old footage with White Baby Seals,Big Black Eyes and Red Blood and a Mother Seal. This is a good tool for the IFAW to use . In the East Coast Hunt we….. Shoot Older Seals Not Baby White Seals . The Law do not permit you to kill white coats. Your Blog would be ok years ago, But is now out of date. Next time please get your facts from a good sourse . Not the IFAW or other groups. They will post false facts to make a point.
.Try the Goverment of Canada and ask for the facts about the seal hunt.
When you do this please make the correction in your opening Blog and post it again……………
Barry
Every March, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, the seal hunters gather to slaughter baby seals for their fur pelts………….

Thanks for your comments, Barry…Please see my new post.

[...] I just received this comment to my previous blog posts about Canada allowing the slaughter of baby seals. Apparently, some people believe the propaganda about the seals not being babies, simply because they have shed their white coats. 95% of the seals slaughtered each year are under the age of 3 months - how is that not a baby, Barry? Perhaps you and other Canadians are trying to soothe your conscience by saying, “well, it doesn’t have the white coat anymore, so it’s not a baby.” These seals are still nursing, and few have eaten solid food yet. Last time I checked…that is a baby. [...]

Why do you refer to the killing of a seal as slaughter. It is a controled hunt,monitered by the Goverment of Canada. Yes you are correct . Most of the seals are 3 months or under . I am not here to attack you or the IFAW . Do you Have a problem with killing adult seals ? Here is a web site from the CBC . Take a look at it…. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/sealhunt/ Please reply and let me know What you agree or disagree with. Like you I am an animal lover and would not kill an animal inhumanly. Here is a second web site for you . http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/reports-rapports/mgtplan-plangest2003/mgtplan-plangest2003_e.htm

All the best
Barry

Barry, I appreciate your response, and also the links you provided. They seemed very fair, although I know that most articles written have some sort of spin to them. (Including the IFAWs) My main fault with the hunt is the senseless killing of animals. The only reason they are killed is for their fur, which goes to Asia and Europe for people to wear. The meat is left to rot, and does not go to feed the Canadians supposedly suffering from a 15% unemployment rate.

I also worry that when humans intervene and mass kill animals, nature will become off-balance, and that will affect much more than simply the seal population.

You asked if I have a problem with the killing of adult animals - I do if it is senseless and simply for their fur. This goes for all animals - not just seals. We as humans have a responsibility to take care of the earth and all of the animals/plants on it.

Thank you again for your comments - I appreciate it!
Jennifer

I do agree with part of what you are saying . A lot of seal meat is left on the ice .
I was looking at some video clips from the Humane Society. Most of the clips start with the video with a White Coat Seal . I like to know what a White Coat Seal has to do with the killing of seals in todays seal hunt , A man going after a seal with a club . When they do a protest Its always a person dressed up as a “White Coat” Seal. Some people looking at this video leave with the impression that white coats are killed with clubs and skinned alived . This is not true. Why can’t the Humane Society show a video of a person killing a seal with a gun . This is what I have a problem with. I think we should have a seal hunt . I don’t think the seal population is in danger. We have seals on our beaches and even on the roads close to the water. Yes I agree we should make better use of the meat. Newfoundland did pack and can seal meat at one time. But people like the played the same game as they are playing now . Like I said “A video of a white seal, black eyes ,killed with a club and red blood on the snow would turn anyone from eating seal meat.
I don’t here much from them regarding the killing of 8 week old chickens, Mink and Silver foxes in cages for years and killed for the fur. Chickens to old to lay are trucked to mink farms alive and put into a grinder alive and come out as mink and fox feed . IFAW and Humane Society where are you now ?
Jenny, Do what you think is best . Look at both sides of the story . Visit the seal hunt . Talk to the people involved. Visit Newfoundland . Write a good story
and post it . I like to have a one on one with you some day , you bring out some good points . If you have any questions or want some pics from Newfoundland feel free to send me a email.

Barry

Hi Barry,

I have to agree with you that most of the information found is slanted one way or another. I have done research on the issue, and realize that white coats are off-limits to the hunters, and if those images are being used still, they shouldn’t be. I do appreciate your viewpoint, because I like to be informed about how issues impact all sides involved.

Based on the research I have done (I read viewpoints on both sides), I still come to the same conclusion that mass hunting of animals will have an impact down the road of that animal’s population. The very same thing happened with bison on the American plains - people felt there was no danger of extinction, yet they nearly did become extinct due to over-hunting. Luckily, much has been done to bring them back, but it was close for a while.

You make some good points about other animal cruelty cases. These should be investigated just as closely as the seal cases. Animal cruelty is never ok, and animals that are to be used for meat deserve a painless and swift death.

I would love at some point to visit Newfoundland and see for myself everything that is going on. I really appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my blog. I wish you all the best, and I would love to have some photos of Newfoundland. If you send them, I’d be happy to post them on my blog. Thanks again.

At the risk of being somewhat repetitive I would like to drive home the point of hypocrisy here. And I would say that, in the case of IFAW and other animal rights organizations, this appears to be strategic.

For example, why are these organizations suggesting that we can do little about catastrophic global warming right now? Why would they not be asking their celebrity supporters to live in smaller mansions which would demand less energy? Why would they not be demanding via TV ads that celebrities move out of their unnecessarily huge penthouse suites? Why would they not be demanding that celebrities stop traveling on private jets? The list of celebrity abuse of our limited resources go on and on! But it’s a lifestyle thing and we can hardly expect such a sacrifice in order to save our planet!!!

Asking a seal hunter to give up a proud living (30% of total annual income for some) from a seal herd over 5 million strong and accept welfare is ridiculous. And to suggest that this is a senseless slaughter because the meat cannot be sold is odd. The marketing of the highly nutritional seal meat to the world was stymied by these very same groups and individuals.

And I’ll tell you why they have less of a problem with the slaughter of other animals such as calves for their veal and softer leather; it’s because they would be offending the majority of people. And that gets you limited financial support. So they find a red herring in the seal hunt. A harvest, unlike slaughter houses, which is open to the world to see. An activity which, unlike abusive energy consumption, impacts on living things immediately for all to see.

Jenny, you seem quite a reasonable person. It would be great if you could visit eastern Canada, including my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador to properly hear the other side.

Hi Percy,
Thanks for your post - you bring out some great points that I completely agree with. (See my post on Al Gore’s utilization of energy for his mansion - http://jenwily.com/al-gore-wastes-energy) I completely disagree with the hypocrisy of many of the celibrities. Many times, they will only support causes when it is convenient for them.

I want you to know that I am concerned for those people that make a living off of the seal hunt. The biggest problem is that when you mass kill animals, you risk damaging the population. I mentioned in another comment the American Bison that once numbered in the millions, and then nearly became extinct because the attitude was much the same - there are so many, they’ll always be around. Unfortunately, that proved disastrous, and hundreds of years later, the Bison are still trying to make a comeback. Another factor in the equation is that when you throw off the numbers of one species, it impacts other species. (i.e. bear, fish, and other animal populations.)

I understand that the Canadian government “monitors” the hunt, but if it wasn’t so bad, why would the U.S. ban the import of these seal skins? There needs to be a solution found so these seal hunters can make a livng off of something other than this seal hunt or welfare.

Percy, I want to thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. I appreciate the points you made. I would love to visit Newfoundland and Labrador someday because from what I have seen, the people are wonderful and are simply trying to make a living. Hopefully there can be some solution to this problem that will work for both the hunters and the seals.

Jenny,

You seem to be the exception rather than the rule when it comes to my previous debates with many animal rights activists. I appreciate your logic and willingness to listen to all sides of this debate.

I have thought through the issues relating to the controlled and sustainable harvest of nature’s resources. And there are no simple answers. For example, many promote the use of synthetics as an environmentally friendly option to real fur and leather. I am confused by this. Most synthetics are the end product of the single most damaging human undertaking to impact on our animal friends, the petroleum industry. Also, because these materials degrade through exposure to UV light, they do not last as long as natural furs and leathers. I also am confused by the promotion of alternatives such as cotton or hemp. Given the demands on our current agricultural lands this option can only be realized by the further destruction of pristine prairie and/or forests. The only advantage of each is the distance they create from the creatures destroyed by such undertakings.

In fact, the pelt and meat properly harvested from a wild seal demands less of the earth’s resources than any of our current leathers and furs from captive animals and the alternatives I have previously noted.

So, I respectively disagree with you on some points. Having said this, I believe that people such as yourself make a tremendous contribution to making this world a better place for all its creatures.

Thank you for this opportunity. I wish you well.