Canada’s Shame - 2006 Hunt Quota Announced

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Loyola Hearn, has today pronounced the death for 325,000 harp seals during this year’s seal hunt which could begin as early as next week.

During a phone-in press conference he showed total contempt for world opinion against the hunt and a wilful ignorance of the facts. He repeated the same tired arguments that have been rejected time and time again, claiming that the hunt is ‘humane’, that seal pups are not killed and that the population of harp seals stands at 5.8 million.

David Bevan, also from the DFO, noted that the temperature this winter, as recorded at St. Johns was 4.5 centigrade higher than 13 years ago.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Mark Glover of Respect for Animals said: ‘Loyola Hearn has done a great disservice today, to the seals, to the Canadian people and to the fishing communities of Newfoundland. Canada’s shameful crime against nature is now being committed in his name and will continue to besmirch the name of Canada. The boycott of Canadian seafood products and of tourism will be stepped up as a result of today’s announcement which will further harm the economy of Newfoundland but it seems that he only cares about money so that is what he is going to have to deal with. He makes a fool of himself when he claims that a three week old seal that has never eaten a solid meal, that cannot even swim is not a pup and this type of nonsense questions his credibility in all other areas’.

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