Canada's National Post article TRASHES the seal hunt.

[flvegan]

The millions Ottawa spends subsidizing the seal hunt
Posted: April 17, 2008, 7:21 PM by Jeff White

By Murray Teitel
Whether you think killing seals is a bad thing or a good thing, whether you think it barbaric or humane, you should oppose Canada’s annual seal hunt.

According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) the justification for the hunt is to provide economic opportunities for Canada’s coastal communities. Last year, according to its Web site, this entire economic opportunity amounted to $12-million, the value of all seal pelts landed. They fetched on average $52 a pelt. According to evidence given to Parliament’s standing committee on fisheries and oceans on Nov. 6, 2006, half of that is eaten up by expenses, so we are talking, at most, $6-million that flowed to the sealers themselves: one-tenth of 1% of Newfoundland’s GDP. (This year it will be even less, because pelts of three to four week old “beaters” that make up 95% of the catch are selling for between $6 and $33.)

This $6-million costs Canadians at least 10 times as much and does so year after year.

<snip>

Fourthly, there is the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) led boycott that is largely responsible for the inflation adjusted $465-million drop in the value of Canadian exports of snow crabs — the main seafood export to the United States from Canada’s sealing provinces — since April, 2005. The value of 2007 snow crab exports is 44% lower than it was in 2004, the year prior to the boycott.
HSUS has to date persuaded almost 3,600 U.S. businesses to participate, including heavy hitters Publix (annual sales $24-billion), Whole Foods ($7-billion), WinCo Foods, Lowe’s Foods, Harris Teeter ($3-billion each) and smaller, seafood-driven ones like Legal Sea Foods ($400-million). Sealing creates less than 1% of the value of the sealing provinces’ fishery. Sacrifice 99% for the sake of 1%. Now there’s a business plan!

Much, much more:

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2008/04/18/the-millions-ottawa-spends-subsidizing-the-seal-hunt.aspx

Folks, every single talking point you need outside of the brutality is in this article. Enjoy.

[Annces]

1. Ya - its a good one

A bloated welfare system with clubbing seals as the work program.

[Shoelace]

2. thanks for posting that article

wow, it was gratifying to read the positive comments on that article as well.

Most of Canada's rags have been trying to defend the seal hunt and yes, all the reasons to stop it are in that article!

[flamingyouth]

3. Thanks for posting this.

Great article. :thumbsup: