From: sasealion@wam.co.za
Date: June 22, 2008
Seal Alert-SA, Press Release, 22 June 2008
One week to go before not 800 or 8 000, but 80 000 sentient seal pup mammals that can experience pain, distress, fear and others forms of suffering - are clubbed to death (Euorpean Food Safety Authority Scientific Findings).
Last week, using the same seal picture I asked the question, which seal is a South African seal and which a Namibian seal, as South Africa stopped sealing in 1990, with no further need to control the population, club it commercially to create jobs or has there been any adverse impact to fisheries, environment or ecosystem. In fact, far from any negative impact, eco-tourism in seal viewing has flourished, and is now one of the top ten attractions in South Africa, earning in excess of R30 million. Under the Seal Protection Act it is now a criminal offence to kill a seal - and South Africa's human population is 25-times larger than Namibia - Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA.
Is it not somewhat of a contradiction in Namibia's seal clubbing policy, that Dr Burger Oelofsen, Namibia's former Director of Marine Mammal Resources, a staunch supporter of seal clubbing, leaves the Ministry to become a partner in the only luxury guest lodge, Cape Cross Seal Lodge, whose sole attraction is offering tourists seal ecotourism to the seal colony ? Now I ask, as the dawn of seal clubbing season is about to begin, which of the seals in Namibia are pups?
Halt The
Seal Clubbing !
- Which Namibian Seal,
Is A Pup ?
Which
seal pups are less than a year, and which are 1, 2 or
3 years of age ?
It is truly disturbing when things are not of our own flesh
and blood. How we just assume and take the littlest most
obvious things for granted, even when we slaughter
thousands so cruelly.
Scientists in South Africa,
Namibia, Australia and New Zealand who are working on
fur seals use tooth sections of dead seals to determine
their age. There is no other way.
So how do Namibia's
seal clubbers determine which alive seals running around in
a seal colony of 300 000 seals of all age groups at 5am in
the morning, some wet, some dry, particularly seals
aged 1, 2 and 3 years of age, and which are pups less
than one year (as per the sealing regulations)?
Do these wild seals have a
sign hanging around their neck saying - "Kill Me, I am a
pup less than a year old" ?
Do these sealers raise these
pups from birth and therefore know each one individually,
like livestock farmers would in an enclosed fenced
environment, clearly not ?
If trained scientists cannot
determine a seal pups age by looking at it, then should
Namibia be allowed to continue with its 93% seal pup
harvest of 80 000, less than one year old seal pups?
The Namibian
government since its independence in 1990, has given
out sealing rights to club to death just under 1 million
seal pups. Knowing that seal clubbers cannot tell the
difference between a seal and a seal pup.
On the 28 June 2007, last year, three days before sealers
could go out into 70% of the Cape fur seal
population breeding grounds and club baby seal pups to
death. The Namibian government announced the seal
quota. Cabinet approved, following a Marine
Resources Advisory Council meeting, an annual seal
quota of 80 000 pups and 6000 bulls. The same quota will
apply for 2008 and 2009.
Whilst Namibia's three
sealing colonies seal population is lower than when Namibia
became independent in 1990, Namibia has allowed sealers to
increase their seal pup kills by 700%.
Namibia's Commercial
Sealing Industry is 93% seal pup based.
Information Minister Netumbo
Nandi-Ndaitwah, stated last year's mass die-off of seal
pups was an indication that the quota should be reduced
from previous years, when the quota was higher at 85 000
pups. On a mass die-off of seal pups, Namibia reduce
it by just 6%, whilst the Ministry of Trade signed an
export order with China to supply it with
seal-oil. "The three-year rolling annual quota shall
only be adjusted if there is a major improvement or
reduction in the stock," she said.
No comment has been
forthcoming from Namibia why its largest seal colony, which
was awarded its highest sealing quota on record, which is
also its biggest tourist attraction, earning over N$2
million from 70 000 tourists undertaking eco-tourism,
completely collapsed 40 days into the 139 day sealing
season in 2007, on 10 August 2007.
The seal harvesting season
is from July 1 to November 15 each year.
On 1 July, the average age
of a seal pup is 7-month of age. It is still dependent and
nursing on its mother's milk, as evident by the white milk
vomited up in shock when clubbed to death.
So in reality, this is a
baby seal pup. Who at 4% of its adult seal weight, has the
same weight percentage of that when a human baby is born.
Namibian scientists confirm
Cape fur seal pup natural mortality is very high, having
increased from 25% to 62% on average. As it has more than
doubled in recent years, and only 38% of the seal pups born
survive, why is there still a need to commercially kill the
remaining survivors ?
The Namibian Prime Minister
does not know why seal pups are killed or why the seal
quota is 93% pup based, the thought has apparently never
occurred to him.
Namibian Regulations relating to the exploitation of Marine
Resources, Part 1. Definitions and Part IV. Conservation
Measures; Section 20, Seals, Government Gazette of the
Republic of Namibia. 7 December 2001. Windhoek. Namibia.
Defines a seal pup, as
meaning a "pup" means a seal in its first year of life.
4 Sealing Rights Holders
with 7 - 15 year sealing rights granted in 2007, are
permitted to hire workers to go out and club to death 80
000 seal pups per year, for the next two years.
Last year in a Seals Press
Release, Namibia defined these "Seal Clubber" as "140
unemployed, poor and destitute". Clearly these hired
individuals cannot distinguish a seal pup from a seal.
"Seal Clubber", is defined
as a member of a sealing team equipped with a sealing club
(pick-axe handle). Sealing Regulations - "(1) Seals must be
harvested in the presence of at least one Fisheries
Inspector, [who could be any staff member within the
Ministry]. (2) A holder of a right must identify a group of
pups to be harvested [But how?], which must be driven away
from the sea and allowed to settle down before clubbing
begins, care must be taken to facilitate the escape of
adult seals [all seals older than 1 year]. (3) After the
identified pups have settled down, they must be harvested
as follows (a) a group of pups must be released from the
group, in the direction of the sea; (b) a clubber must kill
a pup by clubbing it on top of the head with a sealing
club, when the group of pups (flee) past the clubbers
(attempting to reach the safety of the sea). (c) The
inspector overseeing the harvest must be satisfied that a
pup, which has been clubbed, is dead (how, by clubbing it
repeatedly?)"
80 000 seal pups are
to be clubbed to death this year.
But, how do "Seal
Clubbers" distinguish which group of pups to be clubbed,
are seal pups less than one year old, according to the
regulations, and which are older ? As clubbing a seal older
than a year, would be in violation of the regulations and
law.
How many of the close
to 1 million seal pups, who have been clubbed to
death, were in violation of the regulations and were
any of these sealers charged or convicted of these offences
ever ?
The
picture above of two Cape fur seals, was taken side by
side together by Seal Alert-SA, a few days ago, with
no altering of sizes in anyway
The picture of the two Cape fur seals above was taken on 9
June 2008 and has not been altered in anyway for size or
shape. Francois Hugo rescued the seal on the left, a female
and named her JT, in December 2006. The Seal pup on the
right, a male and named him BB, was also rescued by
Francois Hugo of Seal Alert, a year later, in December
2007. Both pups were rescued as new-born pups less than two
weeks old, and both were jet black in colour when rescued.
JT is from the 2006
pup production, and BB from the 2007 pup production. JT is
therefore is one year older, and is now 1,7 years of age
and is therefore no longer a pup, as defined by the sealing
regulations. BB is just 7 months of age.
So BB could be clubbed to death, but it would be illegal to
club JT.
Does the
size of any of these seals being clubbed in this
misty day pic
resemble a 7 month old seal pup ?
But,
how do seal clubbers distinguish which is a pup when they
attempt to club 80 000 seal pups on 1 July 2008?
See actual footage of
Namibia's sealing industry, Namibian government does not
want the public to see www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzPcAvEARwI.
The Answer is - They Can't,
neither can you or I, or the Namibian government, and as
such Namibia should end its annual 93% pup cull of Cape fur
seals immediately.
On paper there are many
reasons why Namibia's sealing industry is 93%, seal pup
based. The other 7%, is made up of bull seals being shot
for their genital exports for the far east, and why the
sealing regulations have always specifically stated
"Seal Pups of less than one year must be harvested".
Without being able to assess
the number of individual seals in a population, government
could not issue sealing quotas. Therefore no sealing
industry. Government is unable to quantify the number of
seals, who are older than a year, with any accuracy in
a population survey. However they can with new-born
seal pups, who are born jet-black and cannot swim or leave
the seal colony, and so can be counted from aerial pictures
as they stand out. But that is in December, several months
before sealing season starts.
But this leads to another
problem, once counted, how do you kill them. Because as
baby seals they congregate in huge rookeries, which makes
it impossible to shoot them individually, as the bullet
will past through, injuring or killing seals nearby. As the
seal grows older than a year, its pelt becomes economically
unviable, as it becomes coarse, and requires tanning at
huge cost.
So economically,
without knowing the population size government cannot issue
a quota and the seal's skins after a year are not viable.
So seals older than a year are not killed. Instead the
idea, is to round up seal pups after they have shed their
jet-black coat, however then these pups although still
suckling and unweaned, appear to look like any other seal
aged between 1 and 3 years.
It is only in their size,
that an idea can be obtained of their age, but with a wild
population, growth in body size, is very much related to
availability of food. Less food, slower growth. Equally
female seals only reach one third to one quarter of bull
seal weight and size, and therefore grow at 3 - 4 times
slower in size.
Namibia's press release
stated last year, "we investigated the mass starvation of
seals along the Namibian coast in 2006".
In another press release, it
stated, "Namibia is a land of good morals where the life of
creatures (man or seal) enjoys a high level of respect and
protection. We use methods intended to result in
instantaneous death of the pups", clearly evidence on
youtube shows otherwise, perhaps the reasons ultimately
lies in seal clubbers being forced to club again and again
the thicker skulls of 1, 2 and 3 year old seals, hence the
immense cruelty and physical beatings graphically shown.
Clearly Namibia must stop its
Sealing Industry.
It is somewhat a sickness in
mankind that an endangered wild seal pup must be
repeatedly clubbed (assaulted) and beaten to death so
that its raw pelt can be exported in order so
that some Scottish man can wear a soft fur purse
around his waist.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774
10-years of Seal Rescue and Protection
