Why did this make me smile??
Byrnzie
Posts: 21,037
Thursday, 19 April 2007, 08:40 GMT 09:40 UK
Ice traps Canadian seal hunters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6570723.stm
Canadian coastguards are trying to rescue the occupants of about 100 boats carrying seal hunters trapped by pack ice off the country's eastern coast.
Several of the boats are threatened with damage or sinking, and at least one crew had to abandon ship.
Fishermen have described conditions as the worst for more than 20 years.
The hunt, described by activists as cruel and unnecessary, is currently in its third and largest stage off the coast of Newfoundland province.
A spokesman of the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Department said two-thirds of the quota for the cull had already been filled.
The total quota for the hunt is 270,000 seals.
Winds pressing the ice floes in towards land have made conditions difficult for the boats, some of which are hemmed in and face having their hulls cracked open.
Conditions are set to continue until the end of the week and could deteriorate further, coastguards say.
Canada's CBC network said some of the boats were running out of food and fuel.
A crew member of one of the stranded boats, the Southern Pride, told the network the ice had crushed a speedboat and left their vessel high and dry.
"I've never, ever experienced nothing like this. We've been in the wrong place each time," said Gill Cadwell.
Canada insists that the cull, which is smaller than last year's, is necessary to keep seal numbers down.
Seal pelts are sold to the fashion industry in Russia, China and Norway, and seal blubber is used for oil.
The culls regularly provoke an international outcry, with celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney and Brigitte Bardot being involved in the campaign against them.
Ice traps Canadian seal hunters
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6570723.stm
Canadian coastguards are trying to rescue the occupants of about 100 boats carrying seal hunters trapped by pack ice off the country's eastern coast.
Several of the boats are threatened with damage or sinking, and at least one crew had to abandon ship.
Fishermen have described conditions as the worst for more than 20 years.
The hunt, described by activists as cruel and unnecessary, is currently in its third and largest stage off the coast of Newfoundland province.
A spokesman of the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Department said two-thirds of the quota for the cull had already been filled.
The total quota for the hunt is 270,000 seals.
Winds pressing the ice floes in towards land have made conditions difficult for the boats, some of which are hemmed in and face having their hulls cracked open.
Conditions are set to continue until the end of the week and could deteriorate further, coastguards say.
Canada's CBC network said some of the boats were running out of food and fuel.
A crew member of one of the stranded boats, the Southern Pride, told the network the ice had crushed a speedboat and left their vessel high and dry.
"I've never, ever experienced nothing like this. We've been in the wrong place each time," said Gill Cadwell.
Canada insists that the cull, which is smaller than last year's, is necessary to keep seal numbers down.
Seal pelts are sold to the fashion industry in Russia, China and Norway, and seal blubber is used for oil.
The culls regularly provoke an international outcry, with celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney and Brigitte Bardot being involved in the campaign against them.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
The seals are fighting BACK! It's a revolution.
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
~Michael Bolton
True. It unfortunately states that "A spokesman of the Canadian Fisheries and Oceans Department said two-thirds of the quota for the cull had already been filled."
The total quote being 270,000 seals.
That's fucked up.
if they lose those ships, i wonder if the hunt will be extended to make up for the loss.
~Michael Bolton
whew...that makes me happy, i was hoping today wasn't going to be weird.
What loss? They're ostensibly killing them to keep the numbers down presumably to keep fish stocks high. Or are they actually more concerned with the profits from the trade in the skins and blubber?
i was thinking along the lines of lost meat, lost fur. so yeah, their concern for profits.
~Michael Bolton
Well, if they are in it mainly for that then it will blow apart their paltry justifications and expose them as the sick fucks that many suspect them to be.
Sadly I think this is what drives the need to hunt more so then thinning out the amount of seals to correct the ecosystems balance... Seals have been around much longer then these mass hunts, and for the most part natural selection probably keeps their numbers in check. They might possible affect the fish stock/availability, but I would suggest this might be in part due to the fact that most of the waters have already been over fished to begin with.
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