Report from Sea Shepherd on Seal Slaughter

The slaughter is disgusting and the fact that there are so many men, willing to kill so freely, not to mention so happily, is quite sad.

I'd like to believe that this brutality is endemic to that part of the world only but I'm sorry to say that I believe you can find such uneducated, ignorant, cruel, brutes in almost every society on the face of the earth.

http://www.furisdead.com/feat-harpseal.asp

Hey, maybe it's a Canadian thing! I note all of my posts that were there yesterday are missing today.

I wish 'Bob and Doug' were here, they'd really put the place on its ears!

I visited the Sea Shepperd Conservation Society web page today to see what jolly ol' watson is up to. They have now posted the infamous video that they claim proves that his crew was beaten up by the sealers last week.

I urge anyone to check it out, but as you watch consider what you actually see and compare it with what he says happened. I saw a tense confrontation, Angry sealers waving sticks and hakapiks, taking a swipe or two at protestors' sticks, mike boom, etc, a push or two, then a bit of a general melee in which there were a few punches thrown. The sealers themselves said that much, openly. Now the video proves it...ohmygodtherewasascuffle!

Take note as you watch that the sea shepperd crew are not trying to get away or to protect themselves from the dangerous sealers who are beating them up...not in one clip is that to be seen. Why are they that close to the sealers in the first place? there is a buffer zone (60 ft? 100ft?) Which is why they were eventually arrested... What they are doing (and you can see this for yourself) is 'standing their ground' then 'moving in' on the sealers and they actively take part in the scuffle. I think that is a little different from what Watson claims took place. At worst its 50/50. They were not victims. (WOLF!!!). If this were the school yard they'd all get detention. Why do they twist and lie? because they need people to beleive the absolute possible worst about the people they are against. (Its like what the neocons do to the Ay-rabs). Why" because it adds to the emotional response and opens the wallets better and lets people think they are good and pure... IF their cause was so strong why so much lies and manipulation?

Why were the sealers so angry and easily aroused? cause they are not very wise in the ways of dealing with such intentional confrontations, and they are VERY upset about these people trying take away 25-35% of their yearly income. think about that from their perspective.

so, the video of sealers breaking the law regarding the "humane" killing of seals surfaces, and the apologists for the sealers claim it must be an aberration and/or assume the perpetrators were called to account by authorities without a shred of proof of either hypothesis

then, the video of sealers attacking protesters surfaces and the apologists claim it's either the protesters fault because they did not run away or because they came too close and deserved it (nevermind that the law clearly states 10 meters, or 30 feet, is the legal distance from which protesters can observe). the apologists then suggests the sealers can be excused because they are naive about confrontations with protesters and observers, which only works if you suspend disbelief that these sealers have no idea of how to carry themselves around others, didn't learn that basic lesson in elementary school, and that after 30 years of sealing protests they still haven't figured it out

doesn't matter what the sealers do, or what proof exists of their misdeeds, the apologists eyes are closed and an excuse for the sealers breaking laws against people and animals is always just around the corner

not apologising for anything but pointing to the obvious, that this video show sealers putting alot of effort into 'killing; the seals in what looks like a legal way to me. People can look for themselves. As for the clips of protestors getting beaten up, Do they see a victim in this video? that is supposed to proove that Watsons people were beaten up? read his texts then look at the video. The protestors confronted the sealers and took part in the scuffle and then cried foul claiming to be victims. All I ask is that people open their eyes.

what you do ask is that protesters just shut up and let the sealers do as they please because it's good when the sealers personally make money from slaughtering thousands of seals but bad when a non-profit organization gets financial donations for trying to stop the slaughter

here's the video of sealers trying to physically intimidate protesters from observing the "hunt":
http://www.seashepherd2.org/video/Sea_Shepherd_crew_attacked_2005.wmv

Sea Shepherd seal campaign video page:
http://seashepherd.org/seals/seals_video.html

Thanks for the rational reply. those are the same clips I refer to and they speak for themselves. What gets me is that Watson shows this along with and after numerous write ups telling about what a 'beating his crew got' at the hands of the sealers. They participated in this scuffle and no one (of the two legged variety) took a beating as is plainy shown in this video. Why make up stories about it.

the sealers did not like the Sea Shepherd people being there, even if they were outside of the legal distance. the sealers rushed at the Sea Shepherd people and started to hit them with sticks. the sealers pushed them. a bloody nose was documented.

obviously, the sealers did not beat them to death, as the sealers do to the seals, but quite simply the sealers lost their cool and got violent, and it's all on tape, on the internet now for the world to see

indeed they did loose their cool, and it wasn't very bright of them to do so. However, TO THEM, they are working an honest living, that is respected by their families, friends and general society (this is where tradition comes in, it means that they do not see evil where you see evil). Even if you and the protestors on the ice don't agree with that. It is legal at this point in time. They resent the interference that threatens their livelyhood. So, when confronted in this manner they became really angry and responded aggressively, to a group of people who in the sealers minds, were there only to provoke them and cause trouble with hopes of taking something away from them. SO, its reasonable to expect that they might react that way even though it was not very smart of them.

BUT the protestors were actively involved, they were pushing back, and actually MOVED IN on sealers in a couple of shots as you can see. Look again, NOT victims. Maybe the protestors feel its their duty to confront people like the sealers...be that as it may, but its not what watson says it is and that is my whole point. TO read his dribble you would think his crew where helpless and got an ass whippin'. Its all about the imagery and how it can be spun. Like I said before, Sometimes a truck in the desert at night just might not be a chemical weapons lab.

I think that there is room for reasonable dialogue on this issue, if you are concerned that the 'hunt' be conducted in a humane manner, and if you are concerned that the population be maintained in at a safe level. If you think that seals should not be killed period, or any other animal for that matter, then there's not much chance of reaching any common ground.

"respected by ... general society"

while I can't atest to the feelings of their family and friends, and I'm not sure you can either, I am pretty sure general society, if you mean outside of their geographical area, does not respect this slaughter

general society does indeed eat meat and yet still finds this "hunt" repugnant. you don't have to be a vegetarian to find it extremely distasteful, even if every last sealer lived up to the supposed "humane" kill laws (which they obviously don't)

that's why the fur from all of those seals is only sold to a small handful of countries, general society wants no part of this barbaric practice

and look how they act, after running around and clubbing living beings all day, ever day, for weeks, they don't have the self-control to not attack other humans as well. "general society" tends not to condone that type of behavior.

just because it's a job and they make money at it certainly does not excuse it. people used to make livings whaling, or slavetrading, but now those jobs are largely extinct and those workers, or their children, move on and find other things to do. maybe if the area is so destitute that the only way to make a living is large-scale slaughter for profit, to make a quarter of their yearly income in 2-3 weeks, then the government needs to help train them to do other things instead of subsidizing their marketing efforts and arresting protesters.

stay on topic, and we can avoid this. one of the editors



by Angie Wednesday, Apr. 13, 2005 at 1:30 PM

Hey, maybe it's a Canadian thing! I note all of my posts that were there yesterday are missing today.

Let's see if they do it again:

* * *

Objections to the annual seal cull are neither rational, scientific nor ecological. They are esthetic, religious and emotional. They are also anti-environmental. Anyone who actually cares about the environment more than they do about their own feelings, should not oppose the harvest of seal pelts. Au contrair, they should call for a larger cull than normal for the next few years. Harp seals are in *no* way endangered. The current cull rate has no effect whatsoever on their viability. The cull could, and should, be increased to at least 80%, to relieve pressure on local fish stocks. Local fish stocks actually are endangered, especially the cod. Local cod stocks are in a state of near complete collapse. There are serious doubts as to whether they will be able to recover at all.

Therein lies a tale. The hardy and industrious people of Newfoundland fished their waters sustainably for four and a half centuries. Then, in 1949, they became part of Canada. It had been a close vote. There are still those in Newfoundland who think of Canada as a hostile foreign power. Union with Canada brought undeniable benefits. As a colony of Great Britain, Newfoundland had fared pretty much pretty much as well as one could expect. Think Ireland, but without the bayonets. Benign neglect was the primary order of the day. Except for the rich and greedy fish merchants of St. Johns, the people of the island worked very hard for their living. It was often dangerous and always uncomfortable. Success was never guaranteed. But there were always fish. With a punt and spud patch, you could keep your family fed.

Then, Canadian fishing rules came into effect. Factory ships, often foreign, were allowed, even encouraged, to strip mine the seas around Newfoundland. The effects were eminently predictable. Fish stocks collapsed. Newfoundland’s economy was devastated. Especially hard hit were the numerous, remote fishing villages that Newfoundlanders call “outports.” Whole towns were virtually abandoned, as families pulled up centuries old roots to migrate to St. Johns, or more often the mainland, in search of jobs, retraining and the dole. Communities were torn apart. So were families.

Do Americans care? Most Americans don’t even know. To most Americans, Newfoundland is a lot like Africa. They know, and care, more about the wildlife there than they do about the people. Unless, like me, you’re a history buff with a particular interest in the devastating effects of colonialism, you probably have trouble finding the place on a map, let alone understanding what everyday life there is like.

America’s callous ignorance an unending source of shame, but it is what it is, and we may as well cop to it. Americans care more about cute, furry animals than they do about the people of this world. Because of this, we are often called racist. And most of us would, in fact, rather save a white baby seal than a brown baby human. But racism, per se, is not the main thing that drives us. Most of us simply don’t give a flying rat's *ss for anybody except ourselves, our immediate families and maybe a few of our neighbors.

Despite all the noise we make about it, deep down, Americans don’t really care about the color of skin. They only care about the color of money. Newfoundland is living proof. The population is overwhelmingly white. Yet to Americans, they may as well be Black Africans. Their lives and their livelihood simply don’t matter. Cute, furry animals matter more than they do, so to h*ll with them. If their children go hungry, so what?

That’s the American way. We make a great show of compassion for the cute, furry animals. Why? To hide from the world and ourselves the actual fact of our lifes. Fact: Americans are a greedy, selfish, bloodthirsty people, self centered, callous, and shallow. America is a tumor on the world’s economy. It’s way of life is a social disease. All righteous people despise them. Anybody with sense resists their intrusion by force. When the Americans show up, the only sensible course of action it to bury the family silver, hide your daughters in the woods and stock pile ammo, because you’re going to need it.

But, Americans tell the world, we aren’t really like that. We are a warm and compassionate people. Look how much we care about cure, furry animals. I don’t believe it. I’ve lived here all my life. I know what Americans are really like. They love cute, furry animals. For people, they don’t give a sh*t. This I know because I live here. I see Americans in action every day. This professed compassion doesn’t fool, me for one moment. Apparent, it is. Real, it is not.

Besides, I’m a history buff. I know how the Nazis convinced the otherwise righteous people of Germany to support them. In part, they did it by portraying themselves as so compassionate that they wouldn’t even harm animals. To prove it, they trashed medical labs, beat up scientists and, as soon as they had a toehold on political power, passed stringent animal rights legislation. And the Germans fell for it. Then the Nazis killed twenty to thirty million human beings. Their much ballyhooed “compassionate nature” turned out to have been a complete fraud. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

So, too, it is with most animal rights activists. They care more about their own feelings than they do about the environment. They would rather do something that lets them feel self righteous and superior than do what is good for the earth. They would rather think themselves compassionate than actually be compassionate. Their compassion, such as it is, is extremely selective. For cute, furry animals, they expression great compassion. For sick or hungry humans, they do not. For us, they don’t give a sh*t.

And forget about fish. Fish aren’t cute and furry, so to hell them. Seals they would save, but not cod, not if it means killing seals to do it. They value seals more than cod, and anything more than humans. It’s not just cod, either. It’s fish in general. Even the otherwise admirable forest defenders of Cascadia were not heard to speak out on behalf of the salmon until they witnessed themselves what strip mining forests did to the spawning beds, and saw an opportunity to use salmon as pawns in the struggle. It’s an admirable struggle. You should get involved. But I do question the motives of people who love trees more than salmon, and people even less. The salmon is a noble fish, worthy of respect. It’s worth saving just because it is a salmon. But it isn’t cuddly. In saving it, there’s little glory. In saving a thousand year old tree there is glory. There is even money to be made. But salmon? They are not even cuddly. So until it became clear they would make handy pawns, nobody stuck up for them except people who fished. And now that Judi Bari is dead, who among the forest defenders give a sh*t about the families of loggers? Even fish seem more important to some people.

And it’s not just cod and salmon. It’s fish in general. They are simply not cuddly enough for most people to care about. A couple of years ago I published, on this very website an appeal for help saving some carp. Not only did they not show up, at least one person spoke out against it, and in the name of “environmentalism” no less. It was an utterly disgusting response by a pack of self righteous hypocrites. People from the neighborhood showed up. Even people from adjacent neighborhoods showed up. But where was the animal rights crowd? They sat on their fat Yankee butts and did nothing. Why? Because carp aren’t cuddly.

There are white furry critters that live on the ice that are in serious danger. They are polar bears. Thanks to global warming, they are facing extinction in our lifetimes. This should concern us, not just for esthetic and moral reasons, but because they are the spotted owls of the arctic. When the spotted owl is in trouble, the forest is in trouble. When the polar bear is in trouble, the ice is trouble. When the ice is in trouble, we are in trouble, We need that ice. It is an integral component of a complex meteorological system that enables a temperate climate, and the agriculture that goes with it, to exist in so much of the rest of the world. That the polar bear is in danger, means humanity is in danger. Famine looms in our future if we don’t act now to save the polar bear.

Why are animal rights activists up in arms about the seals but not the polar bear? Because polar bears aren’t cuddly. They’re vicious predators. They eat seals, they don’t bother to kill them first, and they’ll eat you the same way if you give them the chance. Trying to save polar bears does not afford animal rights activists to feel as smug, self righteous and superior as does trying to save baby seals. Never mind that once he’s grown up, the seal is every bit a vicious a predator as the polar bear. Never mind that, unlike the polar bears, the over abundance of seals are actually harming the ecosystem. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that trying to save seals affords the opportunity to feel good about oneself, as well as to raise a lot of money. That’s what really matters to most animal rights activists, not preserving the environment, but feeling good about themselves.

So, too, it is with most Americans. They talk as if they care about something besides their bellies and their gas tanks, but only fools believe them, because actions speak louder than words. In a world where thirty to forty thousand human beings a day, almost all of them children, die of outright starvation, Americans find it in their hearts to instead shell out salary and expenses for professionals like Watson and his mercenary crew to try to take food off the plates of the children of Newfoundland. No wonder somebody took a shot at them. When you try to get in between people’s children and their dinner, they shoot at you. This is a fact of life. Get used to it.

There’s a reason the world hates Americans. Americans care more about wildlife than about about other people’s children. It’s really hard not to hate people like that, especially when they hire mercenaries to attack you.

I’d like to believe it was out of ignorance and not inherent evil that makes Americans so despicable. But frankly, it’s hard to tell. If the world thinks you’re evil, it’s your own damn fault, and it wont stop till you learn the true meaning of compassion. You could start by educating yourselves. You already know about the seals of Newfoundland. Learn something about the humans. A good place to start is As Near Heaven By Sea: A History of Newfoundland and Labrador by Kevin Major. It’s meticulously researched, extremely well written and profusely illustrated. It’s a great read. I recommend it highly. It’s an easy place to start learning about the Peoples of this world because it’s about white people. They look like you, so there is some slim hope you might find it in your hearts to feel some compassion for them and their children. For there but for fortune go you or go I.

If you can manage feeling compassion for people who look like you, try to also feel for the rest of humanity. Read up on the Africans, for example. They’re not white or furry, but they deserve your compassion a lot more than seals do. Unlike the seals, they are actually endangered, and in more ways than one. If you spend your time and your money on seals, but not them, you’re vile, racist scum. Get over it. Educate yourselves. A good place to start is Famine Crimes: Politics & the Disaster Relief Industry in Africa by Alex de Waal. But don’t stop there. Read more. And don’t just read, do something. Spend money. Speak out. Redeem your honor. Convince the world not to hate you, before it comes home to roost. Time is running out. The world is sick of Americans, and your selfish, self centered, self righteous hypocrisy. If you don’t change your ways, sooner or later, you will get yourjust deserts. And if if think anyone from Newfoundland or Africa will feel any compassion for you when it happens, you are irrationally optimistic. No one who loves justice will mourn America's demise.

Hide,

You wrote a long post but for me it boils down to moral concern for the slaughter of innocent life.

Many of the causes of the fish depletion crisis are deplorable but that doesn't make it right to bloodily bash baby seals over the head with spiked clubs. Excuse me but that is barbaric. Multiple wrongs don't make a right.

Find other ways to alleviate the crisis. Do something to stop factory fishing. Help the Newfoundlanders learn new skills. But stop slaughtering (culling is such an antiseptic word) baby seals.

They are living beings and belong to nobody.