Canadian Parliament Eats Seals

Hard to believe isn’t it? When I first read about this and saw the photos, I was shocked and disgusted. When I was writing about the treatment of whales and dolphins recently, the subject came up about how a country’s citizens can be diametrically opposed to the actions of their leaders. Don’t blame the Japanese for the cruelty of a few to The Cove’s dolphins, nor the Canadians for Canada’s cruel seal hunt.

Time and time again, it has been shown that the majority of Canadians absolutely abhor what the government allows on the East Coast of Canada. But boy, the seal hunt lobby sure must be strong, for not only does the government continue to let the seals be slaughtered, they have now actually personally eaten them. Actually eaten seals.

Liberal Leader Ignatieff tries seal meat

There is an online petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/254851459 with the following information:

“The MP’s [Members of Parliament] ate seal meat [on March 10, 2010] to show solidarity and support for the Canadian commercial seal slaughter amid battles with the EU, who has banned imports of seal products. Although the seal hunt claims to be sustainable, humane, and a significant income for isolated communities, nothing could be further from the truth. Here are some facts about the seal slaughter:

* The Canadian commercial seal hunt is the largest marine-mammal slaughter in the world.

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* The hunt is wasteful: Hunters are usually only interested in their pelts as there is no market for seal meat. They leave the ice littered with carcasses.

* In the area where 90% of seal hunters live, the revenues from seal hunting add up to less than one percent of gross domestic product.

“The seal hunt is incredibly cruel, unsustainable, and does not provide significant financial benefits for Canada or the Canadian sealers. The slaughter needs to end now. Tell Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to stand up against the seal hunt and end this cruel, unnecessary practice.”

Also, for those of you who haven’t yet seen the petition to SeaWorld’s president Jim Atchison, it states that, “SeaWorld has announced that Tilly will remain in captivity and continue to be used in shows. Since he has been in captivity for nearly three decades, he is not equipped to survive in the wild — but a sea pen would give Tilly a more pleasurable and natural environment, away from people he could harm. For the sake of Tilly and for the safety of the people who interact with wild marine animals, give Tilly freedom and relief from life as an entertainer. I urge you to relocate him to a sea pen, and stop the use of wild-caught orca as marine park entertainment.”

This online petition may be signed at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/997920804

Do petitions really help? Can they actually effect change? I hope so. And I hope, I always do.