Dear Wallace Ryan,
In response to your letter to the editor, published March 16, it seems that you are very misinformed about the seal hunt, so let me enlighten you with some facts:
There are 4,000 licensed sealers between Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, PEI, Magdalene Island and Quebec combined, who fish snow crab or lobster the rest of the year. The value of such outrageous acts of violence is $1,000 take-home pay---I don't think they are making enough from the seal massacre to call it "making a living."
The amount Canada wants to spend on tourism is over $100 million in the next few years. The seal hunt only brings in $16 million a year and now, with the seafood boycott in place, along with several European countries banning the import of seal skin products, the loss will be in the millions once again. You do the math, Mr. Ryan. Is this barbaric ritual worth defending for the sake of tradition? Why not allow the fishermen to buy back their licences and start a new chapter in eco-tourism that will benefit future generations?
To even consider allowing this barbaric ritual to continue is delusional. Saying that Pam Anderson and Paul McCartney are attacking our culture is absolute crap, and maybe if you had the talent and intellect of Paul McCartney you would also understand that one's culture provides no justification for cruelty.
By Lisa Diana