It really bothers me how people get all bent out of shape because of the hunting of Harp Seals.
If these animals were ugly like chickens or cows, nobody would give a rat's ass about an annual hunt. But no, they are cute and cuddly, which means that celebrities get to come out and get their face in the news, protesting something they know nothing about. If these animals were endangered, I could see what they would be upset about. But at last count there were over five million of them, and the total quota for the hunt is under a million over three years.
Hell, I know jack shit about seal hunting, and I found that information in under 5 minutes.
I have to agree that it's probably not the prettiest sight in the world to see, what with the blood splashed all over the snow, but go to any conventional slaughterhouse and tell me that's any better. I don't think the killing of any animal is a pretty sight, but I understand why it needs to be done. As for the gruesomeness of clubbing the seals? Like I said before, I've never hunted them, so I can't honestly say if that's the best way to get the job done. Maybe there is a more humane way, like lullabies to sing them to sleep as you swing for the fences, I just don't know.
People say they should stop the hunt and make it more about tourism. Give me a break. You expect the people whose livelihoods depend on this hunt to turn around and start taking tourists out to the ice-flows? How big of a market is there for fur and meat? Compare that to the five people who would pay to take a boat ride to an iceberg. Oh yeah, that's a sustainable economy.
As I said before, if these animals were ugly, nobody would give a damn.
Later.
I heard a rumour. Apparently, the fluffy white seals depicted in those Save the Seals pictures aren't even valid for hunting; apparently, there's no chance that the animals in those photos can even be killed.
ReplyDeleteBut the actual seals which are killed in this hunt are actually of an age where they do not photograph as well as these cute fluffy white ones.
And, hey, given a choice between these fluffy white ones and the ones actually hunted, I'd also choose to use the cuter invalid candidates for a poster campaign; they're cuter.