Starving male and female adult Cape fur seals dying en-mass
Starving dying endangered Cape
fur seals need our international help. Please pass this email on.
See The Namibian Newspaper article, http://www.namibian.com.na/2006/October/national/065188367E.html.
Founder of Seal Alert-SA, Francois
Hugo makes a desperate international plea to help save these
seals.
Supporters of the two largest
conservation organizations have received the following, when asking
for these organizations to help.
From International Fund for Animal
Welfare (IFAW-SA) Thank you for your inquiry. IFAW does
actively oppose the Namibian Seal Cull. See the following
link for more information: http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx?oid=173596 .If
you have any further questions, please contact us.
Sincerely, Laurie Wilson Supporter Relations Manager
International Fund for Animal Welfare.
From WWF-SA, Thank you for writing
back and following through on your concern. I know that similar
events in Norway and Canada have not affected fur seal populations.
So, for these 2 countries, we usually suggest the animal cruelty
organisations as they really are much better at this type of
campaigning and significantly more focussed on these sorts of
issues.However, I don't have specific information about the fur
seals off the South African coast. So, if you really feel that the
numbers are being affected please don't hesitate to write to our
staff in the local National offices as they will be most informed
about the reality of the situation. It is also the national offices
who monitor these types of concerns and make priority decisions
about their areas. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/africa/solutions_by_region/sout
hern_africa/index.cfm .I really hope that this helps but if
you are unable to make contact please write back and I will try and
help you further. Jackie Janosi
WWF International Online Team.
The Namibian Ministry has been using
its Sealing Industry to cover-up is 7th mass die-off of its
indigenous and endangered Cape fur seals. Since its independence in
1990, its been increasing its seal cull quota, to hide the evidence
of mass seal starvation, in 1990, the sealing quota was 3000. In
2006, the sealing quota is 85 000 (the largest on record).
Faced with either admitting its seals are
starving, and with it the evidence, it prefers to adopt a policy of
seal culling (clubbing weak and dying nursing pups in birthing
grounds) to conceal instead, the dead and dying. To which the
European Union has been eager to acquire these baby nursing pelts,
since the remaining sealing countries of Canada, Norway, Greenland
and Russia banned the practice of slaughter nursing baby seals in
1987.
The Cape fur seal population has declined
over 50% in the last decade (and still no international alarm bells
ring).
Scientists, government officials and
leading conservation organizations on both sides of the border
(South Africa and Namibia), are attempting to downplay this 7th
mass die-ff as a species over-populated and that is correcting
itself every four years.
Seal Alert-SA believes this is an
international conservation fraud of the highest criminality. The
current seal population is down to its 1982 levels in 2006. Based
on average pup densities on existing colonies, the Cape fur seal
population in pristine pre-exploited periods, would have numbered
in excess of 11 million seals. The highest peak of this population
of 324 000 pups or 1.3 million seals in 1993, is a far
cry, from being near over-populated. Since this peak, the seals
have endured mass die-offs from starvation, in 1994, 1995, 1996,
2001 and now in 2006. Where between one half and one third died in
each incident.
With over 1000 ha protected for seals on
offshore islands, extinction on 99%, clearly points to a seal
population in severe trouble.
Although listed as an endangered Appendix
II CITES species, CITES continually allows the international trade,
even when the Namibian sealers export 117 000 skins on a 60 000
quota in 2000 (another year of mass starvation).
Either we save them, or we lose them. The abuse
and cruelty, and inhumanness displayed by all is a travesty. Not
even non-endangered, non-indigenous domesticated dogs,
would be allowed to starve in their hundreds of thousands, but
here in Africa - protected seals can.
Is this what wildlife conservation has become,
fraud, cover-ups and blame the weather - shameful. When a species
of marine mammal is dying right before our eyes, and instead of
offering to help, we further condemn them as over-populated.
Namibia end your sealing policy, now. You have
been exposed, for the 7th time.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774