Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
We have so many different viewpoints on a gamut of topics - perhaps we can come together on this...?
It seems every time I turn around I learn of some new horror that may have been going on for years - sometimes I was previously unaware, and sometimes I just didn't realize the depth and breadth of the situation. There are days I turn away, because the revulsion and outrage I feel is overwhelming and I wonder what one person can even do.
Last night at a conservation fund raising event I had the opportunity to meet a particularly fearless individual who has already made a huge impact, one man: Paul Watson. I attended this event to support a diving friend who is helping to raise awareness about shark-finning(info below) and because I support other semi-related causes - such as banning the seal hunt. It wasn't until after I met Paul W. that I started to learn the scope of this mans accomplishments: http://www.seashepherd.org/crew-watson.html (but leave this link for last...)
I'll give some preliminary info, try to keep it as brief as possible, not post overly graphic pics (they are available on some sites) and provide links for those interested.
Seal hunt
This is the largest slaughter of a marine mammal species in the world. The government of Canada tries to link the seal hunt with aboriginal communities despite the fact that the commercial hunt is not an aboriginal hunt. No one is opposing Inuit sealing in the far north. The opposition is to the mass slaughter in Eastern Canada especially Newfoundland where the aboriginal peoples were exterminated a century ago. There are no native communities in Newfoundland. The 'allowed quota' is 275,000 seals. There are no penalties for going over quota and it's not unusual for it to be about 40,000 seals over.
Attachment 17838Attachment 17839Attachment 17840
Seal pups have been filmed suffering in agony on the ice after being clubbed, stabbed, shot or kicked by sealers. Some seals killed are as young as 12 days old - despite the Canadian government trying to convince the Parliament that the seals being killed are all adults. This is because the government of Canada defines an “adult” seal as any seal over three weeks of age. And while the Canadian government insists the hunt is “humane” it is illegal to observe the killing of a seal.
Possibly because veterinarians found that in 42 percent of the cases they studied, the seals had likely been skinned alive, while conscious...
More info:
http://www.harpseals.org/
http://www.hsus.org/
http://www.hsicanada.ca/seals/
http://video.hsus.org/?fr_story=1dc3...d7784d32&rf=bm (pls be aware - graphic footage at this link)
Follow the hunt - day by day (It's just started again):
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008/in_the_news.html
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008...n_updates.html (what this group is doing to stop it)
Direct links to act:
http://www.seashepherd.org/seals2008..._a_moment.html
http://www.hsus.org/about_us/humane_...trade_ban.html
http://www.harpseals.org/helpstop/protest/targets.html
Shark finning
No more than 12 people a year are killed by sharks worldwide, but between 26 and 73 million sharks are killed annually worldwide for their fins. About one-third of all shark species are considered endangered by the World Conservation Union. Other studies show populations of key shark species in areas such as the mid-Atlantic to be as much as 99% below the level of just a couple of decades ago.
Many sharks take up to fifteen years to reach maturity and then produce only one shark pup per year. Such a fragile and slow reproduction rate means that their populations may never recover from the damage we have already inflicted.
The fins are dried, stacked, and sold, mostly illegally. The buyers extract the collagen fibers, clean them, and process them into "shark fin soup."
Shark fin soup is considered a delicacy and has been around for centuries but it wasn't until the last 20 years that the demand for it has risen. The fin
has no flavor and absolutely no nutritional value. It is a dish served only for prestige purposes, selling for anywhere from US$50.00 to US$400.00 per bowl
Shark fins have been shown to contain potentially dangerous levels of methylmercury, consistently ranking among the very highest of all mercury-tainted seafood. Mercury is toxic to humans and is especially dangerous for pregnant women, fetuses, young children and has also been associated with lowered male fertility rates. Additionally, the discovery of other contaminants in shark fin, including hydrogen peroxide and the carcinogen formaldehyde (which are believed to be used as bleaching or finishing agents) are equally concerning.
The demand from China is for staggering amounts of shark fins. As a result, the oceans are literally being scoured clean of sharks. Poachers are invading national marine parks like the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and Cocos Island in Costa Rica to catch sharks.
And the horror is that they don't just kill them, they hack off their fins while they're still alive and thrashing to get away and toss their mutilated bodies back into the sea to die an agonizing and horrific death, unable to breathe, unable to swim.
Attachment 17845
http://www.sharkwater.com/ (Watch the trailer of the multi, multi award wining documentary - released on dvd 4/11)
http://www.sharksavers.org/content/view/177/105/
http://www.seashepherd.org/longline/...k_finning.html
http://www.sharkangels.org/
Get involved:
http://www.sharksavers.org/content/blogsection/5/36/
Dolphin slaughter
Each year from October through March, in small towns across Japan, thousands of dolphins and small whales are confined and brutally killed. These slaughters take place in fishing towns including Taiji, Iki, Ito, Futo and Izu. During those months, Japanese fishermen herd whole families and pods of dolphins, porpoises and small whales into shallow bays and mercilessly hack them to death. Most of these small cetaceans are sold as meat in restaurants and stores, while some are destined for a life in captivity.
In addition to the small cetaceans being massacred on the beaches, Japan kills approximately 100,000 more marine mammals (primarily Dall’s porpoises and also dolphins) in its fishing industry.
The Dolphin meat is then sold in stores throughout Japan - some labeled correctly as dolphin meat, some is mislabeled as whale. What is never included on the label are the levels of mercury, methyl mercury, cadmium, DDT and PCBs. One or more of these contaminants pollute almost all of the dolphin meat for sale in Japan. That it is sold for public consumption at all is a disgrace; that it is sold without the Japanese government warning its citizens that eating dolphin meat is hazardous to their health is irresponsible and negligent.
Attachment 17837
The thumbnail photo is a bay in Taiji, Japan, the water has turned red from the blood of slaughtered dolphins.
Link to more info, videos & photographs
http://www.seashepherd.org/taiji/
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"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
Well, after I posted that long-ass thread, I see someone already started a seal-hunt thread recently. Hopefully there is still some new info from my post above for those who are interested.
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
alabasterwing
Well, after I posted that long-ass thread, I see someone already started a seal-hunt thread recently. Hopefully there is still some new info from my post above for those who are interested.
Here are the links to the other seal hunting threads:
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/sho...t=seal+hunting
http://www.stripperweb.com/forum/sho...t=seal+hunting
These threads contain information and opinions both pro & con.
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
Sharkwater was excellent. Very good documentary....sad but good.
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
It was excellent. Finally got to see it last night (I met the director briefly). I'll never get the picture of that hammerhead thrashing about while they sliced his fins off out of my head. Ever.
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hockeybobby
Yes, I was following with some interest and was going to post a reply to some - but don't feel like getting drawn into a heated one tonight. ;)
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
Thank you for posting these very informative links.
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
alabasterwing
It was excellent. Finally got to see it last night (I met the director briefly). I'll never get the picture of that hammerhead thrashing about while they sliced his fins off out of my head. Ever.
's
That's so sad....I've had the opportunity to SCUBA dive with hammerheads and they are so awesome underwater.
Re: Sharks, dolphins, seal pups - can we get together & help stop the killing?
I'm a little jealous sapphiregirl - I'm not certified yet. Hopefully in the next 2 months I can get the confined water done...