Are you for or against the seal hunt?

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by starseed

If you will eat a hamburger and you protest the seal hunt, you are a hypocritical ###### bag.

I disagree with this. You can't lump every instance of people killing animals into the same heap. Would you say that everyone who disagrees with bullfighting and eats beef is hypocritical, or everyone who disagrees with live-skinning of dogs for theirs furs and eats beef is hypocritical?

There's raising a domesticated animal in captivity and killing it for food (beef industry)
There's raising a domesticated animal for fur (rabbits)
There's hunting a wild animal for food (wild venison, much of the fishing industry)
There's hunting wild animals to cull an unchecked population (seals industry)
There's hunting a wild animal and killing it for fur/trophy (also seal industry)
There's raising a wild animal in captivity and killing it for fur (mink or fox)
There's killing an animal simply for entertainment (bull-fighting)

And that's without getting into complications of methods of kill.

But all of these situations are different, and whether the animal is wild or domesticated, whether it's hunted or raised, and whether it's killed for fur or food, and whether it's killed humanely or inhumanely are all valid ways that people can build their value systems for what's acceptable treatment of animals. I'm not advocating one over the other, I'm just saying that they're all valid value systems.

On the other hand, cute/not cute is not a valid reason to differentiate between acceptable treatment of animals, which is why I believe that a lot of criticism of the seal hunt is hypocritical.

[Kerplunk]

Originally Posted by MiLuch

If we were to set a limit on how many seals may be hunted, then I would be okay with it.

There is a quota set at the start of each season, I believe.

[alltherage]

How about a "meh" option to go in that poll? I think the main concern here is really how cute these animals are. They look like lovable pets. If they looked more like this there would be no issue:

[starseed]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I disagree with this. You can't lump every instance of people killing animals into the same heap. Would you say that everyone who disagrees with bullfighting and eats beef is hypocritical, or everyone who disagrees with live-skinning of dogs for theirs furs and eats beef is hypocritical?

There's raising a domesticated animal in captivity and killing it for food (beef industry)
There's raising a domesticated animal for fur (rabbits)
There's hunting a wild animal for food (wild venison, much of the fishing industry)
There's hunting wild animals to cull an unchecked population (seals industry)
There's hunting a wild animal and killing it for fur/trophy (also seal industry)
There's raising a wild animal in captivity and killing it for fur (mink or fox)
There's killing an animal simply for entertainment (bull-fighting)

And that's without getting into complications of methods of kill.

But all of these situations are different, and whether the animal is wild or domesticated, whether it's hunted or raised, and whether it's killed for fur or food, and whether it's killed humanely or inhumanely are all valid ways that people can build their value systems for what's acceptable treatment of animals. I'm not advocating one over the other, I'm just saying that they're all valid value systems.

On the other hand, cute/not cute is not a valid reason to differentiate between acceptable treatment of animals, which is why I believe that a lot of criticism of the seal hunt is hypocritical.

My personal opinion is that if it is wrong to kill an animal, then it is wrong to kill an animal regardless of intent. (except in defence) If you think a seal should not be killed for food/clothing, then you should not wear leather shoes and eat steak. I understand that others see morale grey areas on this subject. Animal cruelty is a separate subject, but I do not see anything extraordinarily different between the seal hunt and most other ways of killing animals.


Kurzweil sums up my view of the future of these industries:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=88U6...age&q=&f=false

[FlamesAddiction]

I'm trying to recall this discussion from my ecology classes in university. the details are a little bit fuzzy, but the low-down of it was that after the collapse of the cod fishery, some type of smaller fish (I'm thinking oolichans, but that may not be right) has been flourishing because cod used to keep their numbers down. The seals have benefited because they eat those fish, and the unnaturally high amount of food has created a seal boom in parts of the NE coast. Some ecologists said that the high number of seals makes it hard for the cod fishery to recover because the seals also eat young cod, therefore, the only way to keep the ecosystem somewhat in balance is to kill a lot of the seals.

It's kind of sad that the seals have to pay the price for what humans messed up, but assuming that argument is correct (and I can't say one way or the other), it would justify the seal hunt.

The only real problem with it is that they are pretty much helpless and they leave a bloody mess in the snow which creates bad optics.

[JustAnotherGuy]

I think they should be domesticated and sold at market and then slaughtered just like other animals. That would be much much more humane.

[Igottago]

If you are against the seal hunt you should theoretically be against the beef industry, chicken industry, pork industry or anything related to the slaughter of animals.

But people come up with all sorts of reasons to justify one thing they participate in while condemning someone else for something that is pretty similar. People (myself included) are all hypocrites. What are you, a terrorist or a freedom fighter? Depends who's asking.

My personal feeling on this is that the seal hunt is not much worse (if worse at all) than what happens to the animals that ends up on my plate. The difference is I don't see what happens to the food on my plate, so I can sit there and enjoy without feeling guilty.

Same thing with halal meat (Islamic method of ritualistically killing animals they eat by killed by slitting the throat and letting the blood drain from the animal). Is it animal cruelty? Not if you ask them. They say it releases the soul and ends up giving the animal a calm, peaceful death. Most westerners define it as animal cruelty. Not sure who'se right..but the end result is the same. Tasty shawarma.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Same thing with halal meat (Islamic method of ritualistically killing animals they eat by killed by slitting the throat and letting the blood drain from the animal). Is it animal cruelty? Not if you ask them. They say it releases the soul and ends up giving the animal a calm, peaceful death. Most westerners define it as animal cruelty. Not sure who'se right..but the end result is the same. Tasty shawarma.

But the reality is they die from a cut throat and blood-loss, I find it hard to trust a culture who still stone their women to death,behead people in public that they have any sort of knowledge of whats a calm and peaceful death.

[metallicat]

I'm more against the hunt of sharks for shark fin soup than I am the seal hunt. In fact, I have no real issue with the seal hunt.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

I'm more against the hunt of sharks for shark fin soup than I am the seal hunt. In fact, I have no real issue with the seal hunt.

We wouldn't need a seal hunt if the sharks were around

[Delthefunky]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I'm actually in the enviable position of being for the hunt, but against the seal hunters.

Bill Hicks? He's for the war but against the troops.

[7uongo]

Im just wondering what seal meat taste like

I've enjoyed Kangaroo meat.... mmm
Croc and Emu meat is overrated...
Koalas? never had a chance to try it, but a poacher tells me they kinda taste like Pandas

[GreenLantern]

ONLY baby seals.

The grown ones are much too strong for me.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by 7uongo

Im just wondering what seal meat taste like

I've enjoyed Kangaroo meat.... mmm
Croc and Emu meat is overrated...
Koalas? never had a chance to try it, but a poacher tells me they kinda taste like Pandas

So Koalas are also finger Ling Ling good?

[MRCboicgy]

I'm some homo commie pinko, but even I understand that hunting seals is ok.

PETA is a joke.

[Gundo]

[CaptainCrunch]

At the end of the day, if a Seal could wrap its flippers around a club, or fit it into the trigger guard of a rifle it would kill us without hesitation, without remorse and probably with a little bit of joy.

Its man against nature, and nature is out to get us.

We're winning the war, but these softo pinko animal rights ba$stards and environmental lefties commies are preventing us from delivering the death stroke to nature that would allow us to win this war with less casualties.

Shame on you, shame on you all.

[Dion]

WARNING, GRAPHIC LINK: http://i50.tinypic.com/20sh9x3.jpg

[Berger_4_]

Really Dion? No heads up or nothing eh?

[bossy22]

that's fake. The eyeballs taste like candy. Those would've been the first to go.