Mystery of Dead Seals in Scotland, but What About Canada’s Massacre?

© iStockPhoto.com / zanskar

The bodies of dozens of seals have been found washed up on the coasts of Scotland. All the bodies had horrific lacerations, leaving people to question how the animals died. Speculation as to the cause of death ranges from a cookiecutter shark to a ship’s propeller to an underwater wave-power turbine.

Tragic as this is, every year, tens of thousands of seals suffer a similarly violent fate during Canada’s annual seal slaughter. These seals are massacred for products that no one needs. Baby seals are repeatedly shot or bludgeoned before sealers hook the defenceless animals in the eye, cheek or mouth to avoid damaging the fur. The often conscious baby seals are then dragged across the already blood-stained ice. Many of these babies have not even eaten their first solid meal or learned how to swim. The pups, some still fully aware and terrified, are thrown onto a pile. Those who were clubbed by unskilled “hunters” who didn’t bother to check whether they did the job experience a slow, agonising death; many others are skinned alive.

Canada’s image is now equated with the seal kill, and its reputation is bloodied. The US and the European Union have already expressed their opposition to the bloody industry by implementing a ban on importing seal products. The EU’s historic ban on the sale of seal products was set to take effect last week. This ban was poised to end the sale of all fur torn from the bodies of seals who are killed during Canada’s commercial seal slaughter. But in the 11th hour, the ban was suspended by the European General Court, which was responding to a challenge launched by an Inuit group. (The court decided to intervene even though the pending ban provides exemptions for some of the products that come from traditional Inuit hunts.)

With every animal protection organization worldwide opposing the cruel seal slaughter, it is high time that Canada took note of the mass international condemnation and put a stop to this barbaric massacre. Find out ways that you can help animals who desperately need you by checking out our Action Centre, and if you have any furs, please donate them to PETA, where they will be used to educate others about the violence of the fur trade.