There have been numerous complaints about IFAW methods, which include using 'faked' photos to illustrate its
claims. One IFAW campaign was against an alleged practice of 'hanging old huskies', dogs, in Greenland to
'improve their fur' - a practice IFAW claims to have stopped in 1977. This campaign was based on a photo which
the dog owner was paid to stage and was based on an old method used to render dogs temporarily unconscious for
dental treatment - a practice which had already died out and was already illegal at the time of the IFAW
campaign.
In the early days of the organization, film of a seal being skinned alive is used by the IFAW to vilify
sealers, and is screened on CBC television. Imagine that, CBC buying into sensationalist bull. Never would
have seen that coming. Following a public outcry and investigation, a man in the film signs an affidavit
declaring that he was "employed by a group of photographers to skin a large seal for the film. I solemnly
swear before witnesses that I was asked to torment the said seal and not to use a club, but just to use a
knife to carry out this operation, where in normal practice a club is used to first kill the seals before
skinning them." A Federal Standing Committee chastised CBC "for not enquiring into its accuracy before
screening," but the damage had been done.
In 1994, posing as representatives of an American hunting magazine, a film crew commissioned by IFAW tricks a
man into committing acts of extreme cruelty against kangaroos. The film is used by the animal rights group
Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA), which claims it shows an "experienced, unlicensed but
commercial killer" and portrays standard industry practice. The film crew flee Australia before they can be
prosecuted, but the shooter in the film is taken to court. During the trial, it is discovered that he is not a
licensed kangaroo shooter, does not supply kangaroos to the commercial industry, and did not have permission
to shoot on the property he was filmed on. Despite the findings, VIVA continues to use the film, claiming that
it shows kangaroos being hung via gashes in their legs "whilst still alive". In fact, movements seen in the
tails and other limbs are clearly muscle spasms.
In 1998, in a case filed by the Canadian government against Jason Penney and other Newfoundland sealers for
acts of alleged cruelty, the court refuses to admit as evidence a gory videotape produced by IFAW. The footage
lasts 23 minutes, and contains no fewer than 77 editing cuts, suggesting some changes could have been made, says the
judge, who also calls the cameraman "a sophisticated con man" for lying to federal fisheries officers and
sealers to obtain an observer's permit. The Crown appeals and Penney is subsequently convicted by the Supreme
Court of Newfoundland, but in 2002 the Court of Appeal overturns the conviction after finding that the trial
judge admitted the video as evidence without considering the credibility of the witnesses. In its ruling, the
court writes: "Evidence establishing that the video has not been altered or changed is a precondition to its
admission as evidence. Current technology is such that it is not difficult for a competent person to alter
visual evidence. In this case, the video was, for a lengthy period, in the possession of a company that edits
videos."
|