Seal Pup
One of the Horsey Gap Grey Seals.
A stark memory from my childhood was of these lovely creatures being slaughtered by men with clubs. I remember the sea of red, the destruction on the beach. They were skinned there and then with the remains left for the gulls. I also remember being a very angry 8 year old that day. Fortunately, at least in England those days are over.
In Scotland seals can still be shot by fishery owners to "protect their stock" whatever that means. Numbers are dropping year on year with less than 100 reported last year.
In Canada however quotas are set for various seal species each year at over 400,000 allowed to be killed commercially, with lesser numbers also destroyed in Namibia and Greenland. I can understand the native people doing this for survival, at least they use every single part of the seal. However for the fur trade there is sadly still a huge market. Hopefully one day we will see this end.
Seal Pup
One of the Horsey Gap Grey Seals.
A stark memory from my childhood was of these lovely creatures being slaughtered by men with clubs. I remember the sea of red, the destruction on the beach. They were skinned there and then with the remains left for the gulls. I also remember being a very angry 8 year old that day. Fortunately, at least in England those days are over.
In Scotland seals can still be shot by fishery owners to "protect their stock" whatever that means. Numbers are dropping year on year with less than 100 reported last year.
In Canada however quotas are set for various seal species each year at over 400,000 allowed to be killed commercially, with lesser numbers also destroyed in Namibia and Greenland. I can understand the native people doing this for survival, at least they use every single part of the seal. However for the fur trade there is sadly still a huge market. Hopefully one day we will see this end.