 |
 |
Thousands of seal pups die as sea ice fails in Canada30/03/2010 12:51:03
There may be mass mortality of seal pups as the ice fails in the Gulf of St Lawrence. Credit S Cook/IFAW March, 2010. Thousands of harp seal pups are presumed dead in Canada's Gulf of St Lawrence and starving pups are being found abandoned on the beaches of Prince Edward Island, tragic victims of the worst ice conditions recorded in eastern Canada. With the opening of Canada's cruel annual commercial seal hunt imminent, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) reports that the Gulf of St Lawrence, the annual birthing ground of hundreds of thousands of harp seals, is essentially devoid of both ice and seals. Disastrous for seal pups Sheryl Fink, a senior researcher with IFAW, said: "The conditions this year are disastrous for seal pups. I've surveyed this region for nine years and have never seen anything like this. Thousands of seal pups missing "There is wide open water instead of the usual ice floes, and rather than the hundreds of thousands of seal pups that we normally encounter, only a handful of baby harp and hooded seals - animals that are normally found on ice - remain on the beaches." High mortality Extremely high pup mortality is expected this year, making this one of several such occurrences in the past decade. In 2007, 99% of harp seal pups born in the Southern Gulf of St Lawrence are thought to have died due to lack of ice. In 2002, 75% of pups are thought to have suffered the same fate. Scientists with IFAW are concerned that the cumulative effects of high pup mortality due to the poor ice conditions, and high numbers of pups killed during Canada's commercial seal hunt could be devastating.
Fink added: "Finding these ice-dependent seal species on land is extremely unusual, and should be considered a warning signal. The seal pups we have found on shore are thin and unable to defend themselves or escape from land-based predators. It is highly unlikely that any of these pups will survive long enough for there to be a seal hunt in the Southern Gulf this year." Canada increases seal hunt quota Earlier this month, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea increased the total allowable catch of harp seals (TAC) by 50,000, to 330,000 animals. The Minister's announcement was loudly condemned by animal welfare organisations, conservationists and sealers, in a rare moment of agreement. Last year, the European Union voted to ban the commercial trade in seal products from commercial hunts. Seal hunt is "reckless and irresponsible" Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: "It is reckless and irresponsible for the government to allow the hunt to proceed this year, given the high pup mortality that is expected. Under a precautionary approach, we should be protecting the few pups that might escape the devastating effects of climate change this year. "Given the almost complete lack of demand for seal skins, allowing the commercial slaughter of these survivors to proceed is simply adding insult to injury."
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment
didnt realise canadians were so backward, canada now goes on my backward country list along with japan, spain, usa & china (they import ivory) disapointed isnt really a strong enough word.hmph!!
Posted by: steven warner | 06 Apr 2010 20:12:34
call your selves human beings you dont deserve to be allowed to be on our planet, disgusting. We are supposed to protect wildlife not destroy it, in the next breath your so called government will be saying these seales are in danger of being extinct, well whose fault is that then???
Posted by: sharron sibson | 04 Apr 2010 16:56:42
This is so shocking to read and unbelievable. How can any government allow this to happen, shame on you. I don't live in Canada but have always believed it to be a beautiful place with amazing wildlife, I am shocked and upset to read this and it has put me off the idea of visiting Canada.
What is Gail Shea thinking.
Posted by: June Harris | 02 Apr 2010 11:03:11
Canada, oh Canada -- you can produce a beautiful Olympics with gorgeous images of your vast wildlife yet you legally sanction money-making slaughter of innocent life. Ice covered with blood -- shameful; blood on your hands -- consequential.
Posted by: Phoebe Greene Linden | 02 Apr 2010 01:30:37
I am not Canadian and it is not for me to tell Canadians how to run their country but I have a right to air my views. I am against the seal hunt but that has nothing to do with my feelings on this matter. With such a catastrophe looming, surely it is only common sense to halt the seal hunt this year, and perhaps next year as well, to allow the population a chance to recover?
With the effects of Global Warming do we even know if the ice will ever form again, will the seal population recover?
Something neads to be done now!!!
Posted by: Andy Gregory | 01 Apr 2010 15:52:38
Canada is supposed to be an enviable country. However, the entire world watches us as we literally slaughter thousands of baby seals every Spring....and this year?? These babies are washing ashore because of a lack of ice. Yet, our Government, namely DFO Minister Gail Shea, increased the TAC from 50,000 to over 300,000!!??!? What in the world is she thinking--and why is PM Harper allowing this woman to keep her job? She obviously doesn't have a math degree, because there isn't anything to hunt! This Government scares me. It's time to take a good look at who's running this country, because it is very clear that Ottawa doesn't care what 'Canada' wants (over 70% of Canadians DO NOT want this hunt)...they just want votes. This would NEVER happen in the United States. Never. They, along with Russia and the 27-country EU said, "ENOUGH" to this annual slaughter! Stuffing your faces with 'seal hearts' and 'seal meat' in front of millions around the world at your 'fancy seal luncheon' was a sick way of telling the world you support the COMMERCIAL hunt, when they should be supporting the Inuit People. They are bluring the lines between the two....I've never been so ashamed to be a Canadian as I am now, as with MANY, MANY other Canadians. Mother Nature is even trying to tell Canada to end this atrocity....she's making a HUGE statement this year, don't you think Ms. Shea?
Posted by: Chrissy VanderHeide-Stolarski | 31 Mar 2010 05:57:32