End Namibia's Barbaric Seal Slaughter
- by: Seal Pup Defenders ~ Kelly M
- recipient: President of Namibia~Hifikepunye Pohamba
Please watch the video on the left .. Warning Graphic Content.
Namibia is the only country in the Cape fur seal's range in which commercial hunting is permitted. Sealing occurs on two mainland colonies, Cape Cross and Wolf/Atlas Bay, where 75 percent of the pups are born. From July 1 through Nov. 15, commercial hunters hire approximately 160 part-time workers to kill the seals, most pups between the ages of 7 and 11 months. Sealers gather around the colony and guard them from the safety of the ocean. The pups are clubbed in the head with large, ice pick looking clubs while nursing on their mothers. The sealers are then stab the pups in the heart. Pups vomit on their mother%u2019s milk while the sealers begin to slice into their skin. All of this is done without first seeing if the pup is still alive.
Despite a declining population of Cape fur seals and high mortality rates among the seal population, the hunting quota increases every year.
Cape fur seals are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Species on Appendix II are not threatened with extinction, but their survival is dependent on conservation measures.
The hunt in Namibia is the second largest commercial seal hunt in the world, and it would not comply with most other nations' laws protecting marine mammals. It is inhumane and unsustainable. Its high quotas are non-precautionary and violate modern basic principles of good wildlife management.
The killing beaches where the slaughter occurs are a devastating trail of endless red as hunters slaughter babies in front of their nursing mothers. Whether they bleed to death from a club, or are shot with rifles and shotguns, the seals suffer an agonizing and terrifying death through these methods. The seal cull turns Namibia's pristine beaches into a bloodbath, and as such, is a direct threat to a real and valuable seal watching industry that is growing worldwide, along with a growing respect and care for marine life.
Accordingly, important issues surrounding Namibia%u2019s annual seal cull merit your urgent attention. They also deserve a commitment to honesty and respect for the facts not in evidence during the recent interview by the Minister of Fisheries, Dr Abraham Iyambo Onavivi, to parliament on seal culling as reported by Namibian state-owned Newera newspaper. The Ministers statements were false, one-sided and totally misleading, and more appalling, that it was a necessary %u201Cevil%u201D.
Far from presenting a balanced overview on the sustainable use of the seal resource to parliament, the Minister's one-sided statement, "Ministerial Statement on Seal Harvesting" supported only one aspect of seal use in Namibia. The Minister concealed completely the benefits of non-consumptive use of seals, the millions earned in seal viewing revenue, impact the seal cull might have on tourism, the millions invested in boat-based seal viewing, the investment potential of increased seal ecosystem, the natural seal culls through mass die-offs and jackal predation that have recently plagued the species, the need to repopulate extinct former seal islands, the global economic downturn and the effect's it has had on exporting luxury seal skins, the overall effects of the European Union seal import ban and the scientific findings of the European Food Safety Authority which had determined that Namibia's sealing methods are cruel and inhumane.
I must take particular issue with the statements of the Minister that the seal cull is humane. This is both false and preposterous. Despite tireless efforts by your government, there is not a single reputable "expert", %u201Canimal welfare group%u201D or "veterinary group" that has observed the cull, or photos and videos of the cull, and called it humane. Years of observing and documenting the seal cull have led all experts to conclude it is an inherently cruel and abhorrent slaughter, one that gravely compromises not only the welfare of seals but also the safety and well-being of the hunters. Even if hunting seals is part of a native cultural practice, it does not justify mass slaughter for the commercial market. It is time to transition Namibian sealers into new and more rewarding industries that do not involve cruelty to animals. Doing so will ensure the restoration of Namibia's reputation as a humane and ecologically responsible society.
Your failure to act responsibly regarding my request will leave me with only one alternative. To join a global campaign to boycott Namibia's tourism until such time as Namibia acknowledges the revenue seal-viewing currently generates for Namibia and until it seeks to appreciate and protect its seal resource from cruelty. The public outcry that occurs worldwide whenever the images from this slaughtering of seals are publicized will not go away. The dedication of individuals committed to ending this barbaric practice will not go away. I trust you will judge your actions accordingly.Sincerely,
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