To the editor,
It's seal hunting time once again. It's my least favourite time of year as every day I have to hear about more misguided, ignorant, anti-sealing protesters in the news. Unless you have a legitimate reason to protest, such as being a vegetarian, I don't want to hear it. Even then, if you're going to protest killing seals, I would expect you to protest the mass production, heinous living conditions and brutal slaughter of cows, pigs, chickens and every other animal that humans eat. It seems quite ridiculous to me that we differentiate between species like this. We're humans and we eat meat. In order to do so we kill animals. This is fact, and universally accepted.
My biggest problem is that every day there's a new propaganda campaign, launched by people who have no idea about seals and the annual cull. It really gets to me that some "star" can sit there and spout about the "crime" of killing a cute baby seal.
I'm from Newfoundland and I've seen and participated in seal hunts. It's not mindless slaughter. It's just as humane as slaughtering a farm animal. It's also sustainable and, for the people who participate in the hunt, a necessary source of income without which many Atlantic Canadian families could not live. On top of that, it's completely legal.
I could say lots of things regarding the hunt. I could say that baby seals are not targeted. I could tell you that seal populations are destroying cod stocks and I could say that the killing method is humane. The fact is, anybody who doesn't already know these things probably won't believe me. I would encourage anyone to educate themselves about this topic before forming an opinion. And for you die-hard protesters, look for me the next time you protest around Halifax. I'll be the guy wearing my "I club baby seals" t-shirt. Come talk to me. After we speak, you can go out and console yourself with a bacon cheeseburger. It's past time for people to start thinking for themselves, and also past time for those who support the annual cull to find their voices.
By Dylan Harrold
