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The following is an E-mail this site is sending to the members of the European Commission.
Dear Sir or Madame,
The Commission’s recent decision to refrain from further action against seal products is to be applauded and reflects
a desire to make fact based decisions that some European countries do not seem to share. Within the release, the
Commission started strong but finished weak by stating that contradictory humane killing information needed to be
investigated, leaving the door open for ban legislation in the future.
Maybe I can help you with your investigation by pointing you to a recent European study of the hunt which was completed
by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for the Council of Europe. Unfortunately for some ulterior
political reasons it seems that the Council is not going to heed the recommendations of the investigation they
initiated. This would seem to be evident in a reply from the president of PACE to Canadian Senator and Chair of the
Canadian Observer Delegation, Senator Lorna Milne,
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“However, although one must recognize that the results of the debate and vote in the Standing Committee did not
correspond with the views of the Committee, as you well know, in parliamentary life a final position is never fait
accompli until the very last vote. In this particular case, the Chairman of the relevant Committee, Mr Walter Schmied,
was given the opportunity to introduce the report and present the Committee’s position with regards to the amendments
tabled. On those latter, we have to admit that the result of the vote was contrary to the opinion expressed by the
Committee.”
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Maybe the Commission could use the findings of the PACE study instead of reinventing the wheel. Also, in the late 60’s
and early 70’s multiple studies carried out at the request of the United States government found the hakapik to be the
most humane tool for dispatching a seal within the environment in which the hunt takes place. All studies of the
Canadian seal hunt report the hakapik to be a humane killing tool. This being said, the greatest portion of animals
killed during the hunt are shot and not “clubbed”.
The only “scientific” evidence animal rights proponents have in relation to inhumane killing within the Canadian seal
hunt is a report released in 2001 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). An organization of questionable
repute which has been twice refused entry into the IUCN, one of the worlds foremost respected animal welfare
organizations. The 2001 report was paid for and written by the IFAW under the guise of proposing changes to the seal
hunt, not ending it. This is hard to believe when one considers the fact that they were offered equal say in the
management of the seal hunt only five years previous. This document is effectively a well orchestrated propaganda
document which has served the animal rights agenda very well over the past six years even though it has never been
peer reviewed.
Canadian citizens do not skin animals alive. This is an outlandish statement which begs the recipient to ignore common
sense to believe it. To do such a thing would not only risk the quality of the pelt but would also risk the hunter as
well. Another focus of animal rights protestors are the carcasses left on the ice. 60% of each seal is used. What is
left on the ice is bone, offal and a very small portion of meat, all of which returns to the environment as food for
every manner of marine creature when the ice melts.
The seal hunt is the most regulated and monitored hunting in the world. The harp seal population has grown for decades
and presently stands at almost 6,000,000 animals. For decades independent veterinarians have said the hunt is as
humane as any abattoir in western society. However, emotion and gory pictures (which could be obtained in any EU
abattoir) combined with an unquestioning, uncritical media have “sold” the animal rights message to European
politicians and public.
Canadians, Americans, Europeans and most other civilized peoples accept the idea of animal welfare (sound conservation
and humane killing) and reject the concept of animal rights (the end of man’s usage of animals for any purpose). An
animal rights agenda which is hiding its true goals behind a propaganda campaign designed to make people think
sealing, or any other animal use, is an animal welfare and environmental issue.
Through thesealfishery.com, citizens will be able to contact the Commission and ask that they look seriously at what
is being done by the animal rights movement. Asking that facts rather than fantasy, that science rather than emotion,
that rational thought rather than propaganda be the guiding force behind their actions.
You are not being asked to accept these views without question but simply that you investigate the question carefully
and fully before acting to condemn.
Sincerely,
TheSealFishery.com
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