Thursday, April 06, 2006
Letter to HSUS from the past 2003-06-15
Letter to the Humane Society of the United States
I wrote this today. Copy it and send it to their offices at
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, NW
Washington DC 20037
Hi:
I was very disappointed to see that yesterday your organization launched a fund raising campaign in the guise of a protest of the Seal Hunt in Newfoundland and Labrador.
I am not necessarily opposed to cutting quotas on seals however the HSUS campaign is a huge money grab using hackneed arguments and images trotted out time after time over the past thirty odd years. I am afraid the overall effect of this campaign will be to deepen the ongoing social crisis in rural parts of my province. To my mind this is far more cruel than the crimes which you are accusing the sealers of (the physical and emotional torture of people as opposed to the cubbing and skinning of seals).
In terms of the arguments presented on the hunt itself I am afraid that as long as there is a Cod Fishery there will be a Seal Hunt. Seals eat cod and fishermen need the fish to earn a living. Unfortunately, gov't programs don't cover contingencies like the seal hunt when the cod fishery collapses. But, to argue that seals don't eat cod and therefore the hunt is unnecessary is simply foolish and shows how little your organization knows about seals and the fishery. We CAN argue about the quantities of cod seals consume but Seals eat Cod!!! Understand that!!
In terms of the way it is conducted I have always understood that for the younger seals (the beaters or bluebacks) the kindest way to "dispatch" (retire/murder/brutalize?? - you make your choice) them is with a club. Shooting them can lead to wounding and a slow painful death for the creature. As to issues of the skinning of the seals and being flayed alive, if the Humane Society takes this issue seriously shouldn't it be working with the sealers association to improve the professionalism of the industry rather than trying to destroy the livings of thousands of seasonal workers who use the industry to provide for their families?
As to the overall ecological balance of the oceans and arguing that seals eat cod predators, I think this contradicts the society's earlier argument that seals don't eat cod. Additionally, part of the reason the cod have been such a successful species is that they have so few natural predators.
Right now the ecological situation on the Grand Banks is a mess. This in turn has created a social and economic mess in the adjacent inhabited areas as people try to find new ways to make a living and survive. One of those ways is through tourism!! Your campaign attacks these attempts at economic diversification just as they are beginning to achieve some success. Your campaign is shallow and mean. You should feel ashamed for conducting such a self centred, callous attack for your own gain.
Shame on the Humane Society of the United States!!!
http://ronknowling.blogspot.com/2003_06_15_ronknowling_archive.html
I wrote this today. Copy it and send it to their offices at
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, NW
Washington DC 20037
Hi:
I was very disappointed to see that yesterday your organization launched a fund raising campaign in the guise of a protest of the Seal Hunt in Newfoundland and Labrador.
I am not necessarily opposed to cutting quotas on seals however the HSUS campaign is a huge money grab using hackneed arguments and images trotted out time after time over the past thirty odd years. I am afraid the overall effect of this campaign will be to deepen the ongoing social crisis in rural parts of my province. To my mind this is far more cruel than the crimes which you are accusing the sealers of (the physical and emotional torture of people as opposed to the cubbing and skinning of seals).
In terms of the arguments presented on the hunt itself I am afraid that as long as there is a Cod Fishery there will be a Seal Hunt. Seals eat cod and fishermen need the fish to earn a living. Unfortunately, gov't programs don't cover contingencies like the seal hunt when the cod fishery collapses. But, to argue that seals don't eat cod and therefore the hunt is unnecessary is simply foolish and shows how little your organization knows about seals and the fishery. We CAN argue about the quantities of cod seals consume but Seals eat Cod!!! Understand that!!
In terms of the way it is conducted I have always understood that for the younger seals (the beaters or bluebacks) the kindest way to "dispatch" (retire/murder/brutalize?? - you make your choice) them is with a club. Shooting them can lead to wounding and a slow painful death for the creature. As to issues of the skinning of the seals and being flayed alive, if the Humane Society takes this issue seriously shouldn't it be working with the sealers association to improve the professionalism of the industry rather than trying to destroy the livings of thousands of seasonal workers who use the industry to provide for their families?
As to the overall ecological balance of the oceans and arguing that seals eat cod predators, I think this contradicts the society's earlier argument that seals don't eat cod. Additionally, part of the reason the cod have been such a successful species is that they have so few natural predators.
Right now the ecological situation on the Grand Banks is a mess. This in turn has created a social and economic mess in the adjacent inhabited areas as people try to find new ways to make a living and survive. One of those ways is through tourism!! Your campaign attacks these attempts at economic diversification just as they are beginning to achieve some success. Your campaign is shallow and mean. You should feel ashamed for conducting such a self centred, callous attack for your own gain.
Shame on the Humane Society of the United States!!!
http://ronknowling.blogspot.com/2003_06_15_ronknowling_archive.html
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