THE animal welfare group RSPCA is calling for a stop to the "appalling" cull of 325,000 harp seals off the east coast of Canada, which was due to begin on Saturday.
"This year's barbaric three-month cull is part of a wider programme to
slaughter almost 1.3 million harp seals by 2007", the organisation said in a statement.
The RSPCA disagrees with assertions made by the Canadian Government
and the local fishing industry that the hunt is humane, sustainable and scientifically justifiable. It claims it has obtained "shocking" footage of the 2005 seal hunt from the Humane Society of the United States.
The organisation claims that the seal hunt is carried out in a brutal manner and said that the scenes have been viewed by RSPCA Chief Veterinary Officer Steve Cheetham, who said: "This footage leaves me appalled. There is undoubtedly pain and suffering being caused to these animals. Some of the hunters appear callous and show no compassion and - in my view - show no evidence of proper training.
"The clubs they use are not adequate to ensure death without
suffering, when used in the wrong hands. The overall impression is that of seals being assaulted and battered without being killed. The hunters appear incompetent, their attacks are random and ineffective."
Many baby seals are either clubbed or shot to death and potentially
endure great pain during the slaughter. The RSPCA fears that some may
even be skinned while they are still alive.
The RSPCA claims that there is no evidence that seal populations have any significant detrimental impact on commercial fish stocks.
The Society also has concerns that, as pack ice fails to form during
the increasingly mild winters, reproductive rates may be lower than
predicted and these hunts could force populations down to unsafe
levels.
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