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THE CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS POSES THIS INTRIGUING SCIENCE QUESTION:
ARE SEALS FISH? (Click here for the fascinating answer.)
2005 CANADIAN SEAL 'HUNT' REPORT
With an official start date of March 29th, the annual Canadian harp seal massacre ("hunt") for 2005 was finally over by July...
Although harsh weather played to the seal's advantage early on in both phases of the massacre, the seals ultimately lost the battle to the ever-pursuing killers. As is always the case, they never really stood a chance...
The "official" public report from the government declaring the final "harvest numbers" for the 2005 season indicates the ridiculous quota of 319,000 baby animals (overall) had been reached. (because there is no official end date for obtaining the quota, it is always reached as long as the ice conditions permit.)
And of course, the always plentiful "struck and lost" numbers weren't, and never are, figured in these final "official" quota numbers.
But none of this was unexpected...
With the support of the government's continuous and ever impressive efforts to help the sealers reach their bloody quota, it was just business as usual for the sealers.
Adding this years numbers to the previous 2 years of killing, the 2005 season ended the record breaking 3 year quota of 975,000 animals, with more than a MILLION seals killed overall...
Why and how can this continue? The absurd amount of seal killing that continues year after year in Canada occurs for the same reasons it always has: vanity, greed, politics, and Newfoundland "lifestyle" choices.
And once again, as we reflect upon all aspects of the insane carnage of 2005, Harpseals.org vows to continue fighting until the government declares the killing finally over!
Phase one: Quebec's Gulf Front: The "hunt" in this region was only open 5 days this year and most of the killing took place in the space of just 3.
Although harsh weather had prevented the sealers here from killing for the first few days, the total quota for the Gulf this season ended up being 107,000 seals.
Phase 2: The Newfoundland/ Labrador Front: Reportedly, there were over 320 different sealing boats in the area for the second phase of this year's Canadian seal slaughter. The boats here are typically larger than in Quebec's Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and the area is more remote and has thicker ice.
But the predominent difference between these 2 phases of the slaughter is the method of killing: in the Gulf they mostly use hakapiks and shoot only a few, whereas on "The Front" they mostly use guns to kill the seals, then scoop them out of the water using hooks.
As a result, the "struck and lost" numbers (seals they shoot, but merely injure, or can't hook quickly enough, who then slip away under the ice to die), in this area are always higher than in the Gulf.
As for the killers themselves, our guess is the Newfie sealers are pretty much cut of the same cloth as the Gulf sealers: I'm sure they kill the seal babies with the same zealousness the Gulf killers exhibited.
In an attempt to play a more effective role in ending the killing, Ian Robichaud, founder of Harpseals.org, witnessed the horror first hand in 2005, having had a surreal experience onboard the Sea Shepherd boat, Farley Mowat...
3/31/05- Harpseals.org founder attacked by hakapiks and gets it all on tape! Assault charges were dropped...the video tapes were 'insufficient evidence.' No surprise that the Canadian 'justice system' would fail to punish the sealers...
Ian's stint as Sea Shepherd Crew Member ended after the Gulf phase of the action. "My heart remained with the boat and its new crew as it left the port of Saint Pierre (my port of leave) on 4/09 and traveled to the Newfoundland front," he said.
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A plea to end the killing...
Martin Sheen speaks out!
The "official" public report from the government declaring the final "harvest numbers" for the 2005 season indicates the ridiculous quota of 319,000 baby animals (overall) had been reached. (because there is no official end date for obtaining the quota, it is always reached as long as the ice conditions permit.) 
