COAST GUARD RAIDED ANTI-SEAL YATCH

A conservation group monitoring the annual seal hunt said armed Canadian Coast Guard officers boarded their vessel the Farley Mowat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Saturday.
Paul Watson, who heads the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said coast guard officers stormed the vessel at 11 a.m. local time. Watson received a call from Albertan Shannon Mann, 35, the onboard communications officer for the protest ship. [...]



[...] "Today's action will help ensure the safe and orderly conduct of the seal hunt." said Hearn. "We will continue to protect sealers while ensuring the sustainable and humane management of the hunt so it continues to provide economic opportunities for Canada's coastal communities in the future."

English article CANADA.com

SEAL HUNT

The Seal hunt starts this Friday 28.



275.000 seals will be killed for fur.
The only thing the Canadian government did is to make sur that the seals have not their fur removed while still alive (as it have been done until now).

"The Canadian government insists that the seal hunt is an animal production industry like any other. They say that it might not be pretty, but basically it is just like any abattoir except on the ice. But we found obvious levels of suffering which would not be tolerated in any other animal industry in the world."
Ian Robinson, British Veterinarian

-79% of the sealers did not check to see if an animal was dead before skinning it.

-In 40% of the kills a sealer had to strike the seal a second time, presumably because it was still conscious after the first blow or shot.

-42% of killed seals examined were found to have minimal or no fractures, suggesting a high probability that these seals were conscious when skinned.

For more information click here.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of baby harp seals are slaughtered on the ice fields off Canada's east coast for their pelts. Over 95% of the seals killed during this hunt are just days or weeks old. (IFAW)

Spanish article.

Tragic sealing accident

Three seal hunters died and one is still missing after a sealing vessel that was pulling through frigid waters off Cape Breton Saturday capsized.

English article

Seals Canada (2008-03-29)

3 seal hunters died and one is still missing and presumed dead.

Multiple investigations were launched Sunday into why a disabled sealing vessel that was being pulled by a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker near the frigid waters of Cape Breton early this weekend capsized, killing three seal hunters and leaving one still missing and presumed dead.

English article

Un accidente con 3 muertos interrumpe la caza de focas en Canadá
Spanish article
















BELGIUM AND THE NEDERLAND PROHIBITED THE IMPORT OF PRODUCTS FROM SEALS, WHILE GERMANY AND AUSTRIA DECIDED SOME MEASURES TO CLOSE THEIR MARKET TO THESE PRODUCTS. OTTAWA SAYS THAT IS AN IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY FOR THE REGION AND THAT IT DOES NOT THREAT THE SURVIVAL OF THE SEALS.

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