Seal hunt activists arrested
2006-03-27 09:49
Ottawa - A group of animal rights
activists observing Canada's annual harp seal hunt were
arrested on Sunday for getting too close to hunters killing the
animals off the eastern coast, officials said.
The six activists belong to the Humane Society of the
United States (HSUS), which says the hunt is cruel and should
be scrapped. This year, about 325 000 young seals will be shot
and clubbed to death on ice floes, mainly for their pelts.
In addition to six activists, a freelance cameraman working
for Reuters Television was detained. They were on board a small
craft near the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence,
and they broke the law by coming within 10m of
the hunters, officials said. They were later all released.
"We'll investigate, get statements and then decide whether
to charge them," said Roger Simon of the federal fisheries and
oceans ministry, which is overseeing a hunt which started on
Saturday.
Unseasonably warm weather means the ice is much more broken
up than usual, forcing hunters to shoot seals one by one rather
than clubbing them en masse on the floes.
Earlier in the day, the activists said a sealing boat had
deliberately rammed one of their small craft, damaging the
propeller.
Rebecca Aldworth of the HSUS told Reuters by satellite
phone that angry hunters had also thrown seal flippers and
carcasses at the activists. She said she would ask Canadian
police to charge those responsible.
The first part of the hunt, which takes place near the
Magdalen Islands, usually takes about 10 to 12 days to
complete. This year's quota is just over 90 000 seals.
"So far the hunters have taken 3 000 to 4 000 seals. That's
not ridiculously slow, but it's not fast either. It's the lower
edge of the norm," Simon told Reuters.
Celebrities such as former French film star Brigitte Bardot
and ex-Beatle Paul McCartney last week pleaded with Ottawa to
end the hunt.
Canadian officials deny the hunt is inhumane and say it
provides a boost to the local economy while keeping a harp seal
population of over five million in check.
The second and larger stage of the hunt, off the coast of
Newfoundland, starts on April 4.