Canadian government sanctions killing of 275,000 seal pups

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Weeks before the start of the Canadian seal hunt, the largest and most brutal marine mammal hunt in the world, the Canadian government has announced (Monday 10 March) that up to 275,000 seal pups can be clubbed and shot to death during this year’s hunt.

This will bring the total, over the last five years, to one and a half million animals - the majority of them under three months of age. 

Mark Glover, director of Respect for Animals said today: “I have just seen this year’s newly born pups on the Canadian ice floes and it is heartbreaking to think that the beautiful pristine ice will, in only a few weeks time, turn into a bloodbath as the seal pups are bludgeoned and shot to death.

He continued “The sheer scale of this slaughter makes it the largest hunt for marine mammals in the world.  The European Commission and the British Government must act urgently to stop this hunt.”

The European Commission is currently undertaking research into the hunting and killing of seals. A public consultation ended last month and further findings and comment is believed to be imminent.

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