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[An Apple Beatle]

Sir Paul urges Canada to stop hunts Friday March 3, 12:58 PM    

 
 
Sir Paul McCartney and his wife Heather braved the freezing Canadian ice floes to beg the country's Government to stop the "brutal" annual seal cull there.

The couple stood side by side against the backdrop of the pristine white ice to issue their impassioned plea just weeks before the hunt begins.

And they said they hoped their influence could put an end to the cull by next year.

With the haunting cries of the harp seal pups playing in the ice behind them the only other sound, Sir Paul said: "We are out here on the ice floe trying to call upon the Canadian people, the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Government to consider putting an end once and for all to the seal culls."

Mills-McCartney, who later lay on the ice to play with one of the pure white pups, and had to draw back when it went to bite her, said the babies were killed before they had even had the chance to have a solid meal or a swim.

"Imagine having a child and having your baby bludgeoned to death in front of you with a wooden club for the sake of fashion and fur," she added.

The couple also called on the British Government to ban the import of seal products.

Sealers in the Gulf of St Lawrence, off Canada's east coast, used either clubs or "hakapiks" to beat the seals to death or shoot them.

Then they skin them and leave the gruesome-looking bloody carcasses on the floes.

The Humane Society International, which organised the McCartneys' visit, together with British group Respect For Animals, said in many cases the seals - who can be killed from the age of just 12 days old - are still alive when they are skinned so their pelts can be sold to the fashion industry.

[Mairi]

He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. The seals are in fact overpopulated right now- the seal hunt is NOT for fashion, it's to keep all species in check.

[Bobber]

The seals are in fact overpopulated right now-

That's because the polar bears are hunted too.  

Anyway, found this news, pictures and video.

St. John's

[Mairi]

"The US is angry at Canada. Our hunters won't stop hunting. Our trappers won't stop trapping. And word on the street is that our gatherers won't stop gathering."- Rick Mercer

If I find the entire rant i'll post it

[An Apple Beatle]

it's to keep all species in check.

Us humans could do with a cull. lol......

[I am the Paulrus]

[zilch]

I couldn't agree more with Paul and Heather! However, the very sad situation could be that he doesn't have quite the 'influence' that he once may have had. But, that said, at least they are trying to do something - and it made the world media.

[Sondra]

Yeah, I saw them on CNN tonight. It was very interesting. So who's boycotting Canadian seafood ay??

[Sondra]

"The US is angry at Canada. Our hunters won't stop hunting. Our trappers won't stop trapping. And word on the street is that our gatherers won't stop gathering."- Rick Mercer

If I find the entire rant i'll post it

He makes the point that this is not so. And it's not just about why they are being killed, but how. It's inhumane. Period. It's not an insult to Canada, just a reality check. There are alternatives. And the ranting against the US is just a diversion so as not to deal with what is in one's own backyard.

[Mairi]

It's actually pretty humane. They just hit them on the head, and boom, they're gone. It may not look pretty, but it is humane, and that's the way it has to be. I mean, it's not perfect, but then again, what is? And besides, it's in the sealers' best interests for them not to suffer. It wouldn't make sense for them to be flopping around and feeling pain when the sealers are only going to skin them. And lastly, have you ever woken up to find a seal in your backyard? Cause I live on an island, and  I have. You find them near the highway sometimes. they get confused and wander out there. And we're not talking about cute baby seals here. These are big, mean, 200 lb seals right in front of you.

Now, if you're against killing animals altogether (like Paul is) that's a point of debate. But in this case, it's just uninformed celebrities ranting on about something they know nothing about. This is a cause whose main supporters have included Brigette Bardot and the cast of  Beverly Hills 90210.

[Mairi]

Plus, Paul didn't even know which province he was in.

[Sondra]

Mairi don't beleive everything your government tells you.

[adamzero]

I side with Mairi on this one.  I mean, can you imagine what a mean 200 lb Canadian seal could do to . . . I don't know . . . a human infant.  

Not a pretty sight.  

But I am glad that Canada's in the left's crosshairs for a change.  I mean, in terms of square miles they're bigger than the U.S.  It's about time they started sharing the blame for being North American.  

Too bad Paul doesn't care about deer, elk, moose, squirrels or rabbits.  They're "culled" too.  Actually I ran over a squirrel the other day and I'm not proud about it.

It all reminds me of a line from the Simpsons where Homer says: "Rock stars, is there nothing they don't know?"

But I'll give Paul for taking on an easy issue like seal-culling instead of something difficult like global warming (which is deteriorating the seals habitat a lot more viciously than an annual cull).  But then, when you're worth a billion dollars and your "product" (records and CDs) is a petroleum product that uses lots of nasty chemicals, well it's easier to pick on the seal-cullers.  Even the online music requires players, computers and other disposable plastic petrochemical junk.  

In fact, I wager that all the energy wasted on Paul's stadium tours (and the gas used by the people who drove their cars to the show) has caused more environmental damage than seal culls.

And what about Paul's Fidelity investment deals.  Does Fidelity invest in Exxon, Halliburton, etc.?  I wonder if Paul had any second thoughts about doing their ads?  

[Sondra]

There's a little more to it than that. But oh well.

[Bobber]

And lastly, have you ever woken up to find a seal in your backyard? Cause I live on an island, and  I have. You find them near the highway sometimes. they get confused and wander out there. And we're not talking about cute baby seals here. These are big, mean, 200 lb seals right in front of you.

So it's the seals fault?

[The End]

If left un-checked, as in un-culled, the seals will inherit the earth and wipe out all of humanity - it's a fact.

[Mairi]

Mairi don't beleive everything your government tells you.

Whoa whoa whoa. I don't believe everything my government tells me. Far from it. But I DO come from an area whose main source of income is fishing. If the seals get overpopulated, 80 percent of my friend's parents are out of a job.

[Bobber]

Whoa whoa whoa. I don't believe everything my government tells me. Far from it. But I DO come from an area whose main source of income is fishing. If the seals get overpopulated, 80 percent of my friend's parents are out of a job.

And so the seals have to die. I understand that people need a job to have a living, but there's something not really correct here. And it's people who says that the seals are overpopulated, not nature. For if there's really an overpopulating, nature will take care of it.

[Kevin]

And so the seals have to die. I understand that people need a job to have a living, but there's something not really correct here. And it's people who says that the seals are overpopulated, not nature. For if there's really an overpopulating, nature will take care of it.

Good point. But they probably mean overpopulated in the sense that they intrude on their (human) space and resources. But before we get too sniffy we should remember that we gaily slaughter (in all sorts of inhumane and devilish ways) every rodent and insect that intrudes on ours. Pity for them that they're not all furry and cute.

[Sondra]

^yeah, that's true. It's a tough situation cuz if you cherish one animal, why not all? Although rodents do carry disease if allowed to flurish. Also, the overpopulation thing is what he's arguing about. He claims they are killing them at an unreasonable rate and that there are alternative ways to make a living besides fishing. He gave an example concerning whaling in another country.