I wanted to write a blog about this awhile ago but in an effort to avoid crawling back on the soapbox I decided against it. Then I thought about doing it again and decided not to again. And now, here I am. It was inevitable, really. I can't change my opinionated nature any more than I can change my age.
I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. I am the biggest animal lover I know. Anyone who knows me well can vouch for this fact and could probably give you at least ten reasons why I remind them of Elmyra from Looney Toons.
I am not a vegetarian. I think PETA goes overboard. I think Heather Mills is misguided. And yet, I love animals.
I completely respect vegetarians who have chosen that lifestyle as being something that is right for them because it coincides with their particular belief system. I respect vegetarians who respect omnivores and don't condemn us when they see chicken on our plates.
Let's flip the coin. I'm tired of the people who place themselves upon a pedestal and spew misinformed "facts" about issues they know very little about. Any idea where I'm going?
The thought of clubbing seals makes me cringe. I'm not saying the people who have done it are heartless, and clubbing is apparently a very quick method as opposed to the slow painful death that we immediately think of. Many claim that clubbing is more humane than shooting, for example. I've never been clubbed so I can't make an informed comment about this. All I can say is that I know that's not how I'd want to go. It seems inhumane and I would like it to stop.
But, did you know that the majority of seals harvested during the hunt are not clubbed anymore?
Not only that, but the pictures of the baby seals (whitecoats) that are used in the majority of the anti-seal hunt ads really is an inaccurate depiction of what goes on during the hunt considering it's illegal to kill a whitecoat. They don't post pictures of the older seals because quite frankly they aren't as cute.
I was watching Canada AM the other day and there was a woman on there (I forget her name, clearly she didn't make much of an impression) who was strongly opposing the seal hunt. When she said something along the lines of nobody actually making a living from the seal hunt I almost threw my Dearfoam slipper at the T.V.
Now I don't come from a family of hunters, but I do come from an island where people depend on the seal hunt. Even if they do not depend on the hunt directly, the fishery is what has sustained my province for years. We eat, breathe, and sleep by the sea. When seals overpopulate the fishery suffers immensely and so too do the people who depend on it. But I can see how it might be a difficult for someone who has never lived near the sea (and who knows almost nothing about it) to truly understand the delicate balance of that ecosystem and how hunting might be necessary to keep populations of certain species in check.
The thing that irritates me the most, though, is the hypocrisy. The selective generosity. I'm sure the seals are grateful for all media attention, but what about chickens? Cows? Pigs? Perhaps nobody clubs them but I have seen the documentaries about what goes on in those slaughter houses and it's more barbaric than anything else I've ever seen. Hard to watch. I had to stop.
In Newfoundland we also hunt moose. Odd, but the world doesn't really care too much about that.
I'm sorry. I cannot respect your outspoken, jump-on-the-bandwagon plea to end the seal hunt until I also hear you voice your opposition to the slaughter of these other creatures. If cuteness is the issue (which it must be) then personally I think cows are cuter anyway. If somebody can give me a logical explanation as to why seals should be spared and all these other animals do not get that same right, maybe I'll reconsider my views.
"Canada is supposed to be a civil nation. I can't believe this is going on in our country." Some say.
Canada is also a country that is completely accepting almost to a fault. A country that respects all cultures and beliefs. How then, can one say to a hunter who really does live off the land in Nunavut that what he/she is doing is wrong? What about people from other countries who kill animals to make an offering of some sort? Would they not be allowed into our country? Try telling the people from Northern Canada that their way of life is unacceptable. They would look at you like you have ten heads. This is what they know. This is how they survive. This is how they have always survived.
I know it's cool to kiss PETA's ass these days. To say how against the seal hunt you are makes you politically and intellectually up-to-date. Supposedly. I would beg to differ.
This will not be a popular post, I'm aware of that. Mostly because I'm not on one side or the other, but right down the middle somewhere. Some proponents of the hunt will dislike this because I agree that clubbing seals is probably not the best hunting method. Some opponents of the hunt will really dislike this because I'm saying that they often jump into the water wearing a blindfold and not really knowing the facts. Either way, I just want to let the record show that I'm not a Sarah Palin-esque redneck by any means. I'm also not proposing that this is how everybody should think. I'm saying that this is my opinion and sometimes the floodgates that hold my opinions in bursts open. :)
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