Seal Alert-SA, 31 October 2006.
Baby Seals flee Namibian
Sealers to South Africa and Angola
Thousands of Namibian nursing fleeing
baby seal pups makes landfall in South Africa - whilst he slowly
starves to death alone
Like Donna Collins
(reporter in Namibia) recent remarks and enclosed pic, all the
print media in Namibia have carried similar stories, the Windhoek
Observer, The Namibian, New Era, The Economist and the
Informante. All seek answers as to why the Namibian seals were in
July considered officially healthy, thriving and over-populated and
in need of culling, that allowed Namibia to issue the highest cull
(genocidal) quota of 85 000 nursing baby seals in birthing breeding
grounds. A practice banned throughout the world since 1983. When
just three months later, sealers are burying 900 pups a day and pup
growth normally at 30 grams/day had been recorded in 2006, as 2
grams/day. Slowly reports started coming in of seals stranding and
dying of starvation. Soon even the Namibian Ministry acknowledged
that pups born will not survive weaning age (October/November).
Sealers themselves admitted that sealing has ended one month
earlier, "as there are just not any more pups" to (club and
kill)
So why is Namibia
sealing?
Here is what two reporters in
Namibia are saying, Donna Collins, "The seal cull together with the
untimely mass death of starving seals, must be ranked as one of the
country's largest wildlife tragedies. And the sight of Namibia's
Cape Fur seals starving to death each day is beyond words. I have
witnessed the despair and helplessness of these creatures, who
crawl ashore or onto rocks where they collapse and die - too weak,
too emaciated and too ill to continue the fight for survival. Every
day I go to a place where granite boulders form a small harbour at
Swakopmund's popular Mole beach, only to see the dead bodies from
the day before. Some have fallen between the cracks, other's are
still lying on the rocks - dead, or scattered onto the beach below.
Some are huddled together where they died in
comfort of each others bodies, but many are alone. They are all
painfully thin, desperately sick and clearly victims of the most
inhumane suffering that has been bestowed upon them. In my opinion
the Namibian authorities, scientists and fisheries boffins have
treated the seals worse than vermin - stripped them of their
dignity and right to life. But still, the suffering continues, and
the world stands by and watches while this marine mammal is not so
slowly being reduced to rotting corpses along our coastline".
The respected Namibian Economist
Editor's theory, www.economist.com.na20Oct
Theories of El Nino, Seal
Migration north and Over-fishing, all have some truth, but the
bottom-line, hidden in a veil of scientific babble, is that
sadistic Namibian sealers are clubbed their way to this species
extinction.
Consider the facts : Although this
mass starvation of seals is now in the media, it is not the first
such event. We know it occurred in 1988, a big one in 1994, 1995
and 1996. 2000 was bigger, and 2001 and now again in 2006. 7-times
in the last 18 years, Namibia has hidden the reason why it allows
one third to one half of its indigenous protected seals found
nowhere else on earth to pitifully starve to death from hunger -
each time, during and after sealing season has ended.
Namibian Fisheries Minister knew
pups were growing at only 2 grams/day and would not survive. Under
the constitution sealing should only be applied to 30% of the
population, if the claim is sustainable. Yet, these mass death's
since 1988, has reduced the seal population in 2006, down to 1982
levels. Concerned that seals would once again litter the beaches
with their dead carcases, Namibia issued a 100% genocidal cull. Its
purpose to conceal the fact that the seal population is not
thriving.
Is the reason lack of fish or are these
just victims dying that have escaped the club welding
sealers?
So why are so many seals suddenly dying
now ? 75% of the Namibian seal population occurs on two unnatural
mainland seal colonies. From July to November, everyday, for the
next 150 days, groups of sealers will charge into 300 000 wild
seals in their attempts to smash the heads of 600 nursing baby
seals each day. The result the entire colony of seals flee, causing
widespread massive disturbance. Nursing pups still suckling on
mother's milk and who pose no threat to fisheries, are separated
from their mothers, and flee, north and south. Within three months
the seal colonies have become completely deserted, seals have fled
this crime against nature, this genocide.
Thousands of these pups, still unweaned, flee
and drift south. Many die at sea and sink to the bottom. Forgotten
victims. A few survivors reach South African shores, where an even
more un-informed public, harasses and disturbs these frightened
marine creatures. Stress from these constant disturbances and
inability to properly self survive, causes these pups to convult
violently and die from starvation. A criminal offence anywhere in
the world, but not when it comes to Cape fur seals.
Whilst the seals slowly starve to death from
separation. Scientist sickenly claim, "well they are going to die
anyway, why not club the weak to death". If this were true - why
then do sealers bury 900 pups a day and still club their
quota?
Namibian sealers have turned Namibia into
an ugly blood soaked, rotten corpse of dead and dying seals -
ultimately the civilised world will judge harshly, just like
Namibians do their seals.
Sadly for the seal pups there is no solution.
Islands off South Africa are banned to them. Existing awash rock
seal colonies are overcrowded, the result, these pups are forced to
strand, be harassed, as they slowly starve to death in their
thousands on our public beaches.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal
Alert-SA
021-790 8774