Sign to the feed

I tried to embed a video last night over and over, no luck. Glad it wasn't me doing something wrong. I'll go sign up now.

Done. Rated. Wonderful effort.

will go to this site and check it out--would like to know more about it.

Great cause, Josie! Will do this. Seal fur? Is there anything more depraved? PS - Love your name, by the way. It is the top name on the baby name list for my soon to be new grand daughter! Poor daughter in prolonged labor with many stalls over this past week.
Thanks for posting this!

I signed and so did Hubby . . . save the baby seals!

Pawed!

Michael: Glad to know it wasn't just me either. Boy, what
a waster of time!
Cathy: Glad you like the name...
Kind of Blue, Joan K, Lady Miko: thanks all of you!

signed and wishing I felt like it would really do some good...

thanks, Josie

I do too, dynomyte. I go through this every other year, I have
to take a year off before I can do it again. We can only do what
we can do. I think just even putting the energy out there to
the Universe is important.

Dear JKBrady. I am not picking an easy target for my rage.
For that matter, I am not enraged. I am saddened. I fully
understand what animals go through and am VERY mindful
of where I get meat. Only humanely raised and handled.
Yes, people eat animals. Animals eat animals.
The baby seals are stripped of their furs for VANITY
and nothing else. So some bitch can strut around
impressing her "friends".
JKBrady, there are degrees, shades of gray, you know.
If you think in terms of black and white, that's your business.
I do appreciate you taking the time to express yourself.

it's a practice too vile to even think about...

Those very poor locations that the sealers come from are
that way because of overfishing, poor resource management.

I am also sad for the sealers who have to harden their
hearts and souls to perform such gruesome work. Likewise
the abattoir workers. Such soul deadening work.

The attitude of the Chinese towards animals is truly horrifying.
A lot of the problem in places like Africa and Canada is the way resources are distributed. I know this may be a harsh thing to say,
but the folks in those remote villages perhaps need to be relocated.
At the expense of the government. I can't imagine that they are
happy being impoverished, they are just used to living there and
change is very hard on a lot of people.
You are right, the demand side needs to change.
What I can do is give it my all. Peace.

Done. (Wear only 2nd-hand clothes, J.K., and as vegetarian as I can manage.)

What's sealskin even used for?

My daughter was talking today about a newish fake fur that is as lovely as the real thing (and nearly as expensive). No excuse for fur.

The world has so many terrible things in it. Thanks for your good energy.

Myriad: thank you for your comments. As a Canadian, I would
love to get your take on this. I have read that most Canadians
don't support the hunt, it's just a few assholes at the top, who
unfortunately have a lot of power.

Signed, Dakini. And thank you for posting this, especially as I know how painful it is for me--and must be for you--to have this brought to mind, knowing how much suffering is involved. But we do all have to take steps, where ever we can. It is infuriating, but even if we aren't perfect, even if we aren't 100% consistent in our outrage and our practices, we still have to take steps. Even if we can't do everything, we can do something.

I don't know that it's a few assholes at the top - rather, it's the local people in Newfoundland who have done this 'traditionally' ('tradition' always carries disproportionate weight) and think non-Newfies, especially of the insulated city variety, are a bunch of bleedingheart weenies. The people at the top, the politicians, are sensitive to that kind of local concern - the locals vote, not Brigitte Bardot or the anti-seal-hunt people - especially since there are few other sources of income in those localities. They live hard lives, used to be very hard, dangerous work in the fisheries, but the cod stocks are very depleted now.

There's a certain sensitivity re Newfoundland anyway, which came into Canada not that long ago, hasn't been entirely happy with it, talks about stepping back out...and taking their off-shore oil with them. That's a whole other kettle of, um, fish, the oil-rigs.

You're right that relocation is an answer. However, many many people from the Newfoundland outports have already relocated themselves all over the rest of Canada (and set up Newfie pubs, and cause supermarkets to carry whatchamacallit, that fossilized cod stuff, and hard tack and such). There's always stubborn and home-loving people who won't go.

It's to my mind like the people on Native reserves in northern regions, who can't or don't make a living trapping anymore. Trapping was a terrible business too, and again 'traditional' and defended by the people who did it (some still do) and their supporters. Relocation - but both Natives and Newfoundlanders rattle about in the cities, not all of them making the transition - and many of them damned well don't want to.

Somehow we have to figure a way to relocate money-making opportunities to these places instead of moving the people. The generally somewhat impoverished Maritimes are a hotbed of call centres, which I'd almost (almost, I said!) rather go out and club baby seals than work at...but people are working at that job and it can be done anywhere. Perhaps my whiny calls to Bell about my cell phone etc. could be taken by people in Newfoundland or Flin Flon instead of India...

Argh. There are very few good jobs, at least for those of us in the lowah clawses.

And few black and white answers to things - but blood-on-the-snow isn't a good answer...

Of course I signed the pledge and have forwarded this on to many others. Thank you for fighting the good fight.

Dear Susan Mitchell: Thank you for your very well
stated comment. Blessings to your heart.

Myriad: Thank you for responding. Your points are
well taken. I think I was presuming too much about
the folks living in those places. It would be great
to dry up the demand for the grisly product and
give them something else to do, and hopefully
to make more money rather than just subsistence.

Renaissance Lady: Thank you so much for signing
and forwarding.

As probably the only actual Newfie on OS, I feel obligated to reply. Dakini- sorry but it's a much more complex issue than even myriad lets on.

Seals aren't just skinned and left to rot- Seal is a pretty traditional food around here in Spring, though like most very traditional foods, it's becoming less and less common. Seal oil is used in omega-3 supplements as well.

Newfoundland was both discovered and settled for one reason and one reason only- the fish stocks in the area. Those collapsed around 1990, the fishery was closed, and yet there's been very little recovery. Many people blame an increase in the seal population for that. I'm more inclined to blame the increase in ocean temperature myself, but the seals probably don't help.

It's brutally dangerous and dirty work. Stories abound of men caught on the ice floes, and left to freeze, because boats couldn't find them during storms. It is definitely not something people do if they have a choice. and no, leaving the towns where their ancestors have lived for the past three or four hundred years is probably not an option for the people involved. If it were, they'd have moved to Alberta or Ontario already. The idea of forced relocation because of a tiny industry was more than a little patronizing.

A lot of this sounds like a defense, but I'm just trying to fill in some gaps in the information presented, really. I've lived in Newfoundland for most of my life, been vegetarian for the last 14 years and I still am not entirely sure what is right on this issue. I don't support the sealing industry as such, but I think the protests against it are absurdly out of proportion too.

Dear Peppermint: I appreciate you taking the time to fill in gaps.

Ok. The fisheries collapsed. Not the fault of the seals, In any way
shape or form. All critters on this planet doing fine, living in
balance, until humans, consumed by fear, decided to take and
take and take, all in the name of greed. Instead of only taking
what we need.
As far as forced relocation: I didn't use the term forced, but I
guess that's what it would amount to, and I was being pa-
tronizing, something that I don't like. Please see my re-
sponse to Myriad, above. But humans, throughout history,
have had to relocate, for one reason or another. Happens all
the time. As far as tradition? Tradition for tradition's sake be damned .
You say you feel the protests are absurdly out of proportion.
I respectfully disagree. The baby seals are slaughtered in front
of their mothers. Animals know full well what is going on.
They just can't express it. Do you think that's right?
What are we as humans? What does it mean that we treat animals
in such a way? We don't have to be monsters in order to feed
ourselves and our families. I will not eat veal. Nor pate from
a goose that's been force fed until it's liver becomes diseased and bursts. Nor a suckling pig that's taken from it's mother's
teat and slaughtered, just so a human can have something
that tastes good.
There are limits.
And if someone comes to me, seeking my signature,
or money, to help relocate (or whatever) the Newfoundlanders,
I will give them money to sign the petition.
There is such a thing as living with honor.

good news indeed!

All good news, DD!

This is so encouraging. I know that it isn't enough and who knows if it will be enforced or stay in place... but it is a step and every journey begins with a step. Thanks for pushing this issue!!

That is good news!

Well as a vegetarian I don't eat seafood anyway, so it's a no-brainer to boycott. I did, of course sign this petition as well as a few others that have been in my home email box. It's a horrid practice. Barbaric. Thanks for this DD!