Public relations and the possible elimination of the hakapik

Danny Williams (Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador) and Paul Okalik (Premier of Nunavut) have called for the hakapik to be banned. Hakapiks are the spiked clubs that are used to drag -- and often kill -- seals. The call for a ban stems from Williams' delegations recent visit to the EU where it was made clear by representatives of the various countries visited that the hakapik. Sealers are opposed to a ban for what they call safety reasons. Animal rights activists are calling it a public relations stunt to attempt to soften the image of the seal hunt as the EU officially prepares to propose a ban on seal products obtained using inhumane methods.

This is in fact old news that seems to have resurfaced as a kneejerk reaction to the EU's possibly moving towards banning Canadian seal products. A little less than two years ago, a hakapik ban had been proposed by Premier Williams, again because of its negative image.

In a Reuters article on the matter, HSUS director of Canadian Wildlife issues Rebecca Aldworth points out that if the hakapik were banned, the cruelty of the hunt would in fact increase, since hunters would be unable to finish off wounded seals and could end up cutting into them while the seals were conscious. Aldworth has been monitoring this year's seal hunt and her latest report, as well as the sometimes graphic HSUS footage from it, can be found here.

Canada's shameful seal hunt and the forthcoming EU ban

Those of you following this year's Canadian seal hunt are already aware that the anti-sealing Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship the Farley Mowat was recently seized and boarded at gunpoint by Canadian authorities. Bail was later posted by the ship's namesake, Canadian author Farley Mowat. The dispute now seems to be over whether Canadian authorities acted illegally by seizing the Dutch-registered ship and its international crew in what Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society head (who, incidentally, hails from New Brunswick), asserts were international waters. Since authorities have seized the ship's contents, including its GPS system and computers, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society now doesn't have the means to prove where the ship was seized.

According to a Canadian Press piece on the seizure:

Captain Alexander Cornelissen, who hails from the Netherlands, and first officer Peter Hammarstedt are accused of steering the Farley Mowat to within 900 metres of the hunt. That's an offence under federal regulations unless an observer's permit has been granted. The Mowat does not have one.

Both Mowat and Watson said the seizure and arrests were illegal since the Farley Mowat is a Dutch-registered vessel and it was outside of Canada's 12-mile territorial limit.

On Monday, Hearn said the ship was seized within that zone, but the staff later said the minister misspoke.

Two Maritime law experts said Monday that Canada was within its right to arrest the ship and its crew if they were indeed violating seal hunt regulations.

"Canada has jurisdiction over fish and marine mammals out to 200 nautical miles," said Ted McDorman, a law professor at the University of Victoria. "So for purposes of marine mammal management, the waters out to 200 nautical miles are Canadian waters."

Without an observer's permit granted by the Minister of Fisheries, according to the Sea Shepherd Society, it's illegal in Canada to film, photograph or even witness a seal being killed. The Canadian government, under the guise of safety concerns, has basically legislated a cover-up of what actually occurs during the seal hunt. And according to recent news reports, if Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Wilson had his way, nobody would be allowed to observe the hunt at all. Wilson recently called Paul Watson a ''terrorist''; that seems to be the automatic ''go to'' place these days for anyone wanting to condemn the words or actions of environmental or animal activists.

According to Paul Watson, the ship was boarded by the authorities to avoid the embarrassment of having the footage taken by the Farley Mowat's crew shown to the rest of the world. The issue is indeed a sensitive one for the Canadian government right now, especially with the recent announcement following informal meetings of the EU environment ministers a few days ago that the EU environment chief is preparing to propose a ban on seal products coming from countries who cannot prove the seals were slaughtered in a humane way.

The Canadian seal hunt is on (and the Brits are getting an eyeful)

I've mentioned the changes the Canadian government announced this year to present the seal hunt as having become more humane. In the face of a possible EU ban on seal products that hinges on the horrific cruelty of the hunt, the feds hoped to present it in a better light. Everywhere in the news, however, there have been reports of how attempts by activists and the media to observe the purported effects of these changes in legislation on actual practices have been thwarted by officials, as well as by the seal hunters. (Actually, the term "seal hunter" is erroneous. From the footage and photos I've seen, these guys are more or less just walking right up to seals and clubbing them or axing them. There's not much "hunting" involved.) This account in Thursday's UK Daily Mail of one of their reporter's recent attempts to go observe the cull illustrates precisely that nothing has changed (warning: the story includes some very graphic photos and descriptions). This is happening as a delegation of Canadian politicians, sealers and public relations types recently visited Brussels to try make a last ditch case against the EU's possible ban. I really hope that more evidence makes it way to Europeans so that they can pressure their leaders to go forward with this thing. Belgium and The Netherlands imposed their own bans last year; it's time for the rest of Europe to take action.

Animals in the news

The SPCA recently seized 100 starving Arabian horses from a ranch northeast of Edmonton, AB in Canada. Public complaints led to the seizure, which came too late for 27 horses found dead. Neglected ducks, rabbits, chickens, goats and sheep were also found on the ranch owned by Hinz-Schleuter Arabians.

The Canadian government is apparently imposing new rules for seal hunters. According to Reuters: ''From now on, hunters will have to follow a three-step process recommended by an independent panel of veterinarians. After clubbing or shooting the seal, a hunter must check its eyes to ensure it is dead and if not, the animal's main arteries have to be cut.'' Previously, all that was required if seals were found to be alive after an initial clubbing was that they be bonked on the head a second time. These new rules are supposedly going to make the process more -- er --''humane''.

J.D. Irving Ltd. is launching a constitutional challenge of Canada's Migratory Birds Convention Acts, which protects migratory birds, as well as their eggs and nests. February of 2007, the company had been charged with disrupting a Great Blue Heron nesting colony the previous summer by building a logging road through the middle of it and completely destroying 12-20 nests. At the time, they entered a plea of not guilty, claiming they'd exercised ''care and diligence'' to protect the Great Blue Herons' habitat.