I need your help......

b.bardot

Hi there!
there's a protest being held on Tuesday at the Canadian Embassy near Stephens Green at 12 - 2pm which is one of many being held all over the world - why? because baby seals are clubbed, shot, swung in the air and their heads beaten off the ground or skinned alive just for their fur! Most of them are only a few days old - In the 2002–2003 hunt, 96.6% were between 12 days and 12 weeks old. They are taken away from their mothers just so a fisherman can make 40 dollars a pelt. If you think they are just earning a living I don't so - supporters of Canada’s seal hunting like to say that fishermen from the northeast provinces rely on the annual massacre for their livelihood. The fact is that seal hunting is only one way commercial fishermen earn money during the off season—it's responsible for just a small fraction of their annual income
Livelihood or no livelihood, this years batch of newborn baby seals are going to face so pain and agony all for the sake of a fur coat. They are the most adorable, loveable creatures and I plead with you to come down to the protest on Tuesday on your lunch break or take an hour off work and join the group if you can. It would be very much appreciated and hopefully we could make enough of an impact and make a difference. The Blaskets seal slaughter last November when local fishermen shot and clubbed 60 seals, enraged and appalled most of Ireland, it showed that we cared about the seals and wouldn't like to see any creature suffer such a horrific end.
Thank you for reading this,
I really hope to see you there!

JackKelly

didnt you do this last year?

Wibbs

I agree with you there b.bardot. It's going a bit too far. Clubbing a young animal to death for the sake of some idiot's fashion whims is distasteful to my way of thinking. You maybe surprised to hear that this comes from someone for whom flyfishing is a passion(another blood sport to the antis). IMHO if you want to wear the fur of a wild animal, then go kill it yourself and skin it yourself. Then I may have more sympathy with your choices. An Inuit who hunts and kills a seal to clothe and feed his family does it to live. He does it because of a tradition going back thousands of years. He does it with the respect that's due to the life that surrounds him. Doing it for money is a world away from those principles.

Good luck with your protest. I may even show up myself. I will, to the best of my ability try to look like a vegan, so as not to arouse any suspicion among the animal lovers present(to be fair my fish catching skills of late would find favour with even the most rabid of PETA types )

Seriously though, B.Bardot, I sincerely wish you well and I hope you have a huge turnout.

BTW. Did I not read that last years seal kill in Ireland that you referred to, was more likely to have been caused by disease? I don't know the whole story, but that's what I heard.

The_B_Man

fisherman really do that? OMFG i didnt even know seals were fish!

b.bardot

Hi Wibbs,
ok let me take a deep breathe - No it was NOT a disease which was reported by (removed journo's name...) in a number of newspapers, as I work in journalism myself I know how and where this story was fabricated for sensational purposes. 'So-in-so' ended up doing a 360 and reported the truth which was they were murdered by local angry (greedy) fishermen. I have it ALL on record I'm proud to say.
you're very nice for saying you'll come along, hope you do. Of course there's things that cant be changed like eating meat, I choose not to but to those who've no choice, of course what can you do. But the seal culling can be stopped, its not necessary - its just vanity to the end! and I think fighting for the lives of millions of seals is worthwhile. check out the responses I got in the animal section.....
and TimAy - yes it was done last year and the year before that and the year before that and the year before that....its been happening for years even after animal rights activists mananged to stop it in 1976. it'll also continue as long as the demand for fur continues. stop the craze stop the killing

Maximilian

$40 a pelt seems like good value - anyone know where I can pick up a seal fur hat in Dublin?

el tel

A baby seal walks into the bar.

The barman asks "what are you having?"

Seal says: "Anything but a Canadian Club"

Deadwing

reminds me of that dennis pennis episode where he walked up to seal (the singer) and asked him had he any plans for the night out, and followed up with 'i hear seals love a good clubbing'

Chalk

wahh wahh somebody killed a seal

get over it
animals die

what if they were given lethal injections, is that alright?
what if they were gona eat all the fish resulting in them eventually starving to death...

Kernel

I sympathise with the cause, but in my own opinion there are other more important causes which need addressing before something like this... such as the MILLIONS of people who die of starvation or preventable disease in Africa and other third world countries each and every year, because of the mismanagement of their governments, or our own greedy system of first world corporate capitalism and wealth accumulation.

I'd even look closer to home and protest against the state of our health care or try to raise some cash for the childrens hospitals before looking to the seals in Canada. Or the erosion of workers rights in Ireland, through eradication of trade unions etc... There are many issues which directly effect Irish people. However, it is an issue that is important to you, and to animal rights activists, so good luck with it.

The Corinthian

b.bardot wrote:

? because baby seals are clubbed, shot, swung in the air and their heads beaten off the ground or skinned alive just for their fur!

Be still my bleeding heart...

Kernel wrote:

such as the MILLIONS of people who die of starvation...

I say we send them seal meat.

stevenmu

Presumably one of the reasons the fisherman kill the seals is because the seals will eat all their fish if they don't. And they'll grow up to have more baby seals who'll eat even more of their fish. So basically if the fisherman don't kill the seals then there's no fish for them. Through evolution, nature gave the fisherman the ability to fend off their competition and rise to the top of the food chain. Why should they relinquish that spot just because baby seals are cute ? Everybody loves andrex puppies but that wouldn't stop me feeding one to my kids if they had nothing else to eat (if I had kids in the first place).

(btw, I'd actually think of myself as a bit of an enviromentalist, I just think protests like this are knee-jerk reactions to unpleasent images and don't take the harsh realities of life into account)

Sposs

Exactly what stevenmu said,a portion of the seals are killed every year due to the number of seals growing out of control.

ionapaul

stevenmu wrote:

Presumably one of the reasons the fisherman kill the seals is because the seals will eat all their fish if they don't. And they'll grow up to have more baby seals who'll eat even more of their fish. So basically if the fisherman don't kill the seals then there's no fish for them. Through evolution, nature gave the fisherman the ability to fend off their competition and rise to the top of the food chain. Why should they relinquish that spot just because baby seals are cute ? Everybody loves andrex puppies but that wouldn't stop me feeding one to my kids if they had nothing else to eat (if I had kids in the first place).

(btw, I'd actually think of myself as a bit of an enviromentalist, I just think protests like this are knee-jerk reactions to unpleasent images and don't take the harsh realities of life into account)

If your first paragraph was meant as a joke (or even if unintentional), bravo to you, sir! I have the image of an evolutionary ladder with Captain Birdseye (the old one, mind) standing at the top with club in hand, sneering at the seals and puppies further down the food chain!

I agree that the Andrex puppies look good enough to eat.

pickarooney

Will your Front National chums be there to hijack the picket and turn it into an anti-immigration rally?

The Corinthian

Probably only if your SWP chums ain't there to hijack the picket and turn it into an anti-capitalism rally.

stevenmu

ionapaul wrote:

If your first paragraph was meant as a joke (or even if unintentional), bravo to you, sir!

Completly unintentional, but I'll take all the kudos I can get

I'd have to agree I suppose that their method of population control leaves a lot to be desired.

pickarooney wrote:

Will your Front National chums be there to hijack the picket and turn it into an anti-immigration rally?

Not sure if that's aimed at me or not. If it is then I've no idea where the hell you got the idea that I'm some kind of racist.

DrIndy

Is your organisation called the "Save the Seals Club"???

pickarooney

stevenmu wrote:

Completly unintentional, but I'll take all the kudos I can get

I'd have to agree I suppose that their method of population control leaves a lot to be desired.


Not sure if that's aimed at me or not. If it is then I've no idea where the hell you got the idea that I'm some kind of racist.

Nah, just taking a swing at Brigitte "save the seals but not the jews" Bardot. Not funny or relevant.

stevenmu

Oops, I wonder if anyone's ever made a "jumping to conclusions" gathering card

StupidLikeAFox

as far as i know the seals die instantly, because the clubs arent the Fred Flintstone clubs but ones that are really heavy at the top so it kills them instantly. And also i believe that point is true about the seals being over populated and its a matter of thinning out the species or there'll be no fish. I agree its not a nice or pretty thing to do, but theres i trust theres no alternative?


(also, i dont think there would be a mass interest if they were killing rats or some equally ugly animal)

Calhoun

I suppose its the natural order of things man > all. What the fishermen do is nothing compared to what killerwhales do. Sneak up as the cute lil seals are making there way for there first swim snatch about 2 then smack them around the place. Anyone ever see that program on discovery 3 or 4 whales were hunting around seal breeding grounds, they had a game of football with 2-3 of them hitting them with there tale up into the ear.

Anyway couldnt you do something more constuctive with your time like, there are millions of children around the world starving or being sold as child sex slaves ect. I suppose though what ever floats your boat if baby seals are more important than people go for it.

JackKelly

tough crowd

Has anyone ever eaten seal, out of curiousity? I'm getting hungry looking at this thread.

Wibbs

To be fair to the OP. While I believe there are other equally valid causes, she at least believes in something and is willing to do something about it. That counts for something IMHO.

(Oh Boy. As a person who enjoys fishing, a sport her, or at least the more vocal of her kind want to ban someday, those words struggled out of my fingertips .)

b.bardot

ok lads I asked for help, I asked about something I think there can actually be something done to stop it- if, for instance I could help in any way to stop 3rd world hunger, poverty everywhere, drug problems in Dublin or things that have actually affected others I know, whatever you can think of- I'd love to be able to change all that!!!!! 'the millions dying of starvation' is something I've been donating money to FOR YEARS, I do what I can for these other 'valid' causes, I dont just sit around and hope others will help out, I do actually care for anyone who has to suffer in any way. So you know, I do actually live in reality and I didn't ask for help on behalf of any group, I asked because it's something that can be helped and changed.
Second of all - THE SEALS DO NOT NEED TO BE CONTROLLED- THEY ARE FACING EXTINCTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how stupid are you!
I'm not going to bother explaining it any further. I registered here to post the info hoping it would do something positive, its any wonder some people try to do good at all when you face such a hostile response. its a worthwhile cause and all I'm doing is responding to a bunch of Comic Book Store guys who get joy from sending 'witty' responses, so its a waste of time.
if all you have are reasons not to do something, then you'll never get anything done.
thanks for your time, I'll still be there on Tuesday

StupidLikeAFox

Easy Tiger! Not many were hostile responses. And have you any sources to prove their facing extinction? Im under the impression its a necassary evil, but i dont know too much about it either. And what time is it on tuesday, i might be in dublin with nothing to do

b.bardot

I also posted it in other forums, and the response was negative.

My defense mechanism is sky rocketing each time I get an answer.

I just don't get how complacent people are about cruelty just because they eat meat!! like eating meat means that anything goes with animals?

It is not essential to kill seals, its just greed, vanity and moneyl. Seals are just a fraction of their income, they are not solely dependent on them.

And yes the proof that they are facing extinction was confirmed by teams of independent veterinarians and experts. This March will see 700,000 die in just one month

the protest begins at 12 until 2 pm

Big Ears

b.bardot wrote:

.I think there can actually be something done to stop it.

You may think you're making a difference.............you're not.

seamus

b.bardot wrote:

I also posted it in other forums, and the response was negative.

My defense mechanism is sky rocketing each time I get an answer.

it's called trolling. People post things that'll blatantly annoy you so they can laugh when you explode. It's the internet equivalent of prank calling except that you don't even need a spine to do it over the internet.

StupidLikeAFox

b.bardot wrote:

It is not essential to kill seals, its just greed, vanity and moneyl. Seals are just a fraction of their income, they are not solely dependent on them.

True, but the seals population will skyrocket if they arent curbed. Seals multiply like rabbits, and they dont kill all the young, just enough to keep the population in order.

And yes the proof that they are facing extinction was confirmed by teams of independent veterinarians and experts. This March will see 700,000 die in just one month

The cap is set at around 250,000 actually.

AFAIK the main problem with it is that people are not killing them properly/humanely. Some people arent hitting them in such a way they die instantly, therefore causing suffering.
And i think that anyone who goes for the seal fur because its the ''latest trend'' deserves to be clubbed!

Wibbs

Jeez, b.bardot. as ColHol pointed out not all of us were hostile to your thoughts. I for one supported your position. Have you ever thought why more people don't support causes such as yours? When faced with unsurprising flak, given the cynicism of people today, what do you do? You take an overly histrionic position screaming hyperbole the like of which I've not seen since Barnum, all the while punctuated by BLOCK CAPITOLS and exclamation marks!!!!!! See how bloody irritating that looks?

I'm new at this. You may notice I only drifted in here a few posts ago. I'll probably drift off again after a few more. I dunno, but I tried not to come with preconceptions about the people I may find here. While you will find the "comic book guys" here there are many many more that seem pretty OK. Some responses obviously came from 12yr old keyboard warriors. Others did not. Tarring everybody with the same small brush just because you don't wish to argue your viewpoint or you don't get the attention you feel it deserves is a bit childish IMHO.

Even your sig "no matter what you say - they feel pain" screams of an overly emotive fixed position not open to debate. You mentioned being involved in journalism before. Would a prerequisite not be objectivity? Research is also a valuable trait in a journalist, so when you screech THEY ARE FACING EXTINCTION!!!!!!!! Check your facts. At least post links to sources and not the usual PETA stuff. Actual independent sources that back your position up.

EG;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/166.shtml

This one shows some reduction of seal numbers but it's not an extinction crisis just yet. By along shot. Animals numbering in the millions. Obviously teetering on the brink. :rolleyes:

http://www.imma.org/harpseal.html

I'm sorry but I and others have been civil to you, but when you act like a spoilt little girl stamping your feet looking for attention, don't be overly shocked by the negative reaction you may get.

The Corinthian

b.bardot wrote:

It is not essential to kill seals, its just greed, vanity and moneyl. Seals are just a fraction of their income, they are not solely dependent on them.

I notice you overlooked the whole conservation argument.

Still fixated on their cuteness I suspect.