28-03-2010 Canada’s reckless and cruel annual seal cull

Animals Count recognises animals as sentient beings and aims to raise the legal status of animals to reflect their sentience. This legal status would include their protection in national and international law. Therefore, Animals Count is completely opposed to the annual reckless and cruel seal cull in Canada which is due to commence in a few days time. This year up to 330,000 seal are allowed to be killed, while populations are already struggling with reduced sea ice formation due to climate change.
The Scaterie Island Wilderness Area is supposed to be a protected provincial nature reserve. Yet within days, and with the Canadian government’s full consent, commercial fishermen will arrive to slaughter 2,000 baby grey seals at just the beginning of what is widely regarded as the largest cull of marine mammals on the planet. Every year, this commercial seal hunt, condemned by animal protection organisations and governments, kills hundreds of thousands of baby grey and harp seals, many as young as 2 weeks old.

Canada continues with this mass killing despite global condemnation and the ban on seal fur imports introduced throughout the EU in 2009. Eye witness accounts have recorded many seals being skinned alive to produce products nobody needs.
Animals Count calls on the UK government to continue to persuade their Canadian counterparts that bludgeoning so many animals to death is both cruel and unsustainable. The so-called justification of culling seals in order to protect fish stocks is clearly flawed as the stocks are low due to human overfishing of the oceans.