A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization
SEAL
HUNTING POLITICS, PROPAGANDA, & CULTURE
Examining the mindset that accepts and promotes the annual slaughter.
Examining the mindset that accepts and promotes the annual slaughter.
|
A 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization |
SEAL
HUNTING POLITICS, PROPAGANDA, & CULTURE
Examining the mindset that accepts and promotes the annual slaughter. |
|
When it comes to understanding the reasons and justifications for the annual Canadian Harp seal slaughter, the short answer of "it's for their pelts" can remain unchallenged... Upon further examination, however, it seems the true depths of the roots of the killing go far beyond that simple explanation. On a superficial level, most people around the world reject the reasoning behind the blatant and ugly truths surrounding the annual slaughter of the Harp seals. Painfully obvious to most people of the world as being overtly cruel, wasteful, and just plain "wrong" on so many levels, polls show that the majority of Canadian citizens oppose the yearly slaughter, (with the exception of the Maritimes provinces), yet it continues nonetheless.
So why and how does it keep on happening year after year? With the hunt enjoying its highest kill quotas in history, its a sad but true fact that only a small percentage of Canada's overall population benefits from the killing- while the rest of the people and the reputation of Canada itself suffers the embarrasment, disapproval, and economic beating that comes with it. It is indeed a cultural phenomenon worth exploring, if for no other reason than its unique character. Why DOES it go on? That does indeed seem to be the 64,000 seal question... The fact of the
matter is that upon taking a more in-depth look at the reasons behind
it, one must factor in the cultural, POLITICAL, and philosophical viewpoints
of the people that accept and promote it. THE
PROPAGANDA STARTS HERE: THE DFO IS THE GOVERNING BODY WHICH FOR MANY YEARS CHOSE TO LINK THE DECLINE OF THE COD FISHERY TO THE SEALS, DESPITE THE MOUNDS OF EVIDENCE SHOWING THE CONTRARY. (It's a classic example of propaganda.)
For
those who still may not understand, we'll try and make it more clear.
The goal of the Canadian propaganda for many years was as follows: Convince the public
that the Harp seal is the reason for the recent and tragic collapse of
the cod fishery of the eastern seaboard.
Another way of describing this phenomenon might be: "political positioning"... Put another way,
after years of overfishing and systematic exploitation of its resources,
Canada's government used the harp seals as a scapegoat and blamed
them for destroying their cod fishery.
(a fact proven untrue year after year by biologists not on the government
payroll.) In this way, the local politicians could keep their voter base happy
(sealers are fisherman and crabbers when they're not sealing) and voting
for them. Want to go deeper? The key
players in charge of the propaganda are: "REVERSE" CANADIAN TOURISM: Why not start a propaganda campaign of our own and smear the Canadian flag with the blood of the seals... In addition to boycotting all seafood from Canada, we urge you to make the link of killing baby seals to travel and tourism to Canada and to tell the government about it!  Target:
CANADIAN TOURISM EXCHANGE (CTC) Purpose of the CTC: *The CTC's business is to promote tourism to Canada. It's government-sponsored and corporate-fed. Most noteable is their motto- "Discover our True Nature".... So, Harpseals.org suggests you do just that! Tell them you're not going to travel to or buy Canadian products as long as the senseless seal hunt continues. Contact addresses to write letters: 55 Metcalfe St. Suite 600 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1P 6L5 613-946-1000 Website: Canadatourism.com, For emailing: try going here or searching their site. For more cyber targets, go here.  THE
HUNT EASILY TRANSCENDS MOST TRADITIONAL ANTI/ PRO-HUNTING ARGUMENTSIt also goes far beyond animal lovers and conservationists" vs. "developers and resource extractors" issues. The sad truth of the matter is that the annual slaughter of the harp seals comes down to a cultural phenomenon of dubious "tradition" mixed with the fear and closed-mindedness of a public duped by continuous and copious amounts of government-produced propaganda (see above notes) to propagate the fear. It's an insane circle of death and illogical actions. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES & THE BABY SEALS The Canadian Province of Prince Edward Island is primarily noted for four things. The most famous of these is an author named Lucy Maud Montgomery and her books about Anne Shirley – better known as "Anne of Green Gables."
Another topic of great interest both as a political issue and an ecological issue is the incredible Read about some examples of the DFO's incompetence, mismanagement of the oceans, and scandalous activities here. |
And
of course let's not forget about our good friends at the now defunct
CANADIAN SEALERS ASSOCIATION-