as the 7th mass die-off becomes evident.
Seal alert-Sa sasealion@wam.co.za
Date: October 8, 2006
Dear All Cape fur Seal Supporters,
starving Cape fur seal comes ashore only to be run-over
After months of campaigning to end
Namibia's largest cull of 85 000 nursing baby seals in
nursing and birthing grounds. The species continues to collapse.
Since July 1, the sealers have clubbed their way through every
living nursing baby seal pup in their desire to fill
their export orders for the EU. Sealers are now concentrating their
killing spree on shooting 6000 young and old bulls for the far east
genitalia trade. Whilst the 2006 sealing season draws to a close on
November 15. Seal Alert-SA is once again receiving reports, that a
7th mass die-off has once again taken place since 1988.
Prior to the start of this year's sealing
season. The seal population was at 1982 levels. After 91 000 has
been slaughter, (with 100% of the new-born pups), one can only
imagine what the Namibian seal population has further declined to,
with these further reported mass die-off's. The lowest official
population figures we have are in 1972. How long before the seal
population will declined off the chart, and yet Namibia still
claims its seal population is healthy and sealing is
sustainable.
Here are just a few of the extracts, Seal
Alert-SA has received in recent days.
"My name is Yolanda, we
are currently visiting Swakopmunt in Namibia – We went to the beach
(Mile 4 –Mile 8) this morning and were shocked by the number of
dead seals on the beach, we only drove on part of the beach but
counted a total of 97, this was terrible especially for my kids we
even saw a couple of baby seals also dead, do you know what is
going on??? This is shocking, first of all the decaying
bodies and second of all the sadness of why this is
happening. We live in South Africa – Pretoria and we came to
Swakopmunt to look at this beautiful place and now we get a
slaughter field. I took photos and I really want to email
this to people in South Africa that are not informed of this
cruelty. Please let me know how I can help, we will be here until
Saturday and hopefully we will be able to show our kids some seals
that are alive not this!!! Some of the body’s heads was bashed
in and a lot of the skeletons left had the same injuries. All of
the bodies seemed as they were just killed and
left".
"I heard
through a friend of mine who is CEO of Save the Rhino Trust and
came out of the bush today with talk of a new concession that has
been opened up in a conservation area to culling MORE seals. I am
not sure of the details, but will look into it. Also seals are
coming up from the ocean and dying like flies on the beach
(starving most of them)- some are even getting close to the road
and being run over as pictured here. The situation is horrific.
Please give me some feedback".
"Phoned Fisheries today and spoke to a Heidi who put
the phone down on me. She's dealing with the seals and is a senior
biologist. I got up her nostrils because I demanded an
explanation regarding the status of the seals thus far - culling
and starving to death. I also got hold of an Advocate Mbako at
Fisheries H/Q in Windhoek who is going to issue me with a press
release on my concern regarding the seals dying along our
coastline.She phoned me back this evening (surprise) and said the
matter has been looked into and they will have an answer by Monday
for me. I'll let you know further. But I intend stirring the pot
some more, because the seals are dying like flies and the beaches
are littered with corpses. I would like to know roughly how many
seals do you think have been culled to-date, as well as what sort
of figures are we looking at regarding the seals starving to death
- is the same as last year which I think was a recorded figure of
is it 200 000 or 500 000 - that is an awful lot? let me know
please"
In
the last three days, Seal Alert-SA without any funding (except from
one loyal supporter in the Netherlands) has rescued one juvenile,
two sub-adults and one weanling pup. All severe starvation cases.
Sadly the juvenile after a courageous fight
died.
All
the large international seal campaigning organizations, with many
millions of supporters and many millions of dollars more in
funding, all posted recent opposition press releases on their
websites, denouncing Namibia as the 'Cruellest baby seal hunt on
earth'. I have to wonder why none has reported these latest mass
die-off's or offered Namibia to send in rescue teams to offer to
save some of these seals. I know one organization has recently
started an international seal awareness campaign called 'making
waves for seals', in which over 2 million school children (and
their parents) will be reached. In which, if 10% respond, over 50
million will be raised. I wonder how much of this will go towards
saving the seals currently dying in Namibia right
now?
Although 50% of these seals were slaughtered and are now dying on
the diamond restricted land, De Beers likewise has remained
silent.
No word as
yet either, from Green Party Dr Caroline Lucas or the Commissioners
in Europe or CITES Secretariat, so it's safe to assume once again
all these slaughtered baby seal pup pelts will be welcomed into the
EU.
Are we
currently witnessing the way in which a seal species becomes
extinct, with everybody horrified at the pictures, but not
horrified enough to do or help in anyway. Yet, have no problem in
exploiting the situation to raise maximum funding for themselves,
with not a cent going to the actual saving of these loving and
beautiful marine creatures?
For the
Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA