A massive seal slaughter on Sable Island would involve bringing in mobile crematoriums and modified tree-harvesting equipment, and would cost upwards of $35 million, according to a study commissioned by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The 2009 study, obtained through an Access to Information request, examined the costs and logistics associated with “managing” the grey seal population on the fragile island, a whelping ground for the world’s largest grey seal colony.
For years, the fishing industry has been lobbying the DFO for a seal cull on the island, arguing that seals, not humans, are to blame for eating too many cod. Under growing pressure from the fishing lobby, the DFO commissioned the study and asked CBCL Ltd., a Halifax-based engineering firm, to consider two options. One was to explore what it would take to execute a slaughter of 100,000 seals the first year (50,000 pups, 30,000 females and 20,000 males), and 30,000 in each of four subsequent years. The second option involved implementing a contraceptive vaccine program targeting 16,000 female grey seals each year for five years.
According to the study, the execution of either option would take place between December and early February—when the beaches and dunes are covered with nursing mothers and their babies. The study concluded that the logistics, resource requirements and costs of executing the first option would be “substantial,” when compared to an immunization program.
The study details what would be required to kill, lift and move tens of thousands of seal carcasses over a 25-day period. Adult seals would be killed with rifles and the pups with either rifle or by clubbing. To achieve the goal of 100,000 dead seals in 25 days, 10 seals would have to be killed every minute. “At this production rate, a tandem dump truck would be filled with seals approximately every 10 minutes…seven hours a day for 25 days,” says the study.
Thirty modified tree forwarders with boxes and rubberized grips would be required to load all the carcasses from the “work zones” to one of the 20 or so mobile crematoriums where they would be “thermally treated,” meaning incinerated. If the carcasses were not incinerated then the onset of rot and disease would be fast, resulting in biological hazards and health and safety issues for the workers. The study explained that if incineration did not occur before stockpiling and storage, then the carcasses would have to be transported daily off the island—slung from shore by helicopter to a supply vessel—and brought to the “shore base” for disposal. CBCL identified the Mulgrave Marine Terminal on the Strait of Canso as a base, able to accommodate offshore supply vessels, ocean-going tugs and barges, fixed and mobile cranes and regular off-loading capability for the tractor-trailer support the operation would require.
According to the study, 100,000 intact carcasses would weigh roughly 15,000 tonnes and would require 500 trips by tractor trailer from the marine terminal to a disposal facility. The study notes several problems with this scenario, one being that the carcasses would likely freeze inside the containers, making disposal difficult and, secondly, that it’s currently not legal to dump 15,000 tonnes of dead seals into a Nova Scotia landfill.
For these reasons incineration on Sable Island is the study’s preferred choice. Units called “Air Curtain Burners,” designed to burn wood waste with a special mechanism to control smoke, would be used for incinerating the carcasses.
According to a DFO spokesperson, any decision to implement the study’s recommendations would be made by the minister, Gail Shea. In January Shea announced a “total allowable catch” of 39,000 grey seals from Sable Island. And, with the value of seal pelts tanking and the European Union slamming its doors on seal products, Shea also visited China to promote the sale of seal meat, pelts and penises.
This is where the picture starts to get murky. Just last week the federal and provincial governments announced that Sable Island will be designated a national park, a decision welcomed by environmentalists because it will raise the level of protection for the island’s unique biodiversity and extremely fragile sand dune ecosystems. But this protection does not apply to seals. According to DFO’s seal expert Don Bowen, a park designation would not prohibit a seal cull on the island. At a public meeting earlier this year, Bowen said “whether a hunt occurs or not is not a scientific decision, but a political or economic one.”
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.
Utterly appalling!
For those that wish to read two great books:
Farley Mowat’s Sea of Slaughter and Briton Cooper Busch’s The war against the seals: a history of the North American seal fishery.
If they did not have big soft watery eyes would there be such an outcry against the seal hunt. They have no natural predators (With the exception of the occasional great white in the Bay of Fundy or Greenland Shark off Sable). There must be a check and balance.
An adult seal eats up to 20 + Kilos of fish daily. Their “Excessive” and unnaturally high numbers have not only destroyed our fishery, it has been extremely detrimental on our marine environment as well.
A yearly safe, quick and humane cull is the only option. My only objection is the wasting of the carcass. It must be put to use (i.e.: food, pet food, fertilizer, etc).
If we were still using a fishing line on a stick with a hunk of bacon on a hook the fish in our oceans would not be depleted the way they are now. Fishing practices have become destructive to our oceans in the same way that monster islands of plastic floating in them is and now we have created opportunities for oil to be pouring into them that will eventually effect not just the marine life but the life that depends on that life for survival. That is us!
People need to start caring about sustainability rather than how much can I gain before it’s no longer gainful? Man has proven over and over that he is not a good caretaker of our planet and these culls of any species can create consequences we cannot even understand because of our ignorance on how all things are connected and required to keep a balanced healthy planet.
This is not sealing as we know it, i.e., sealing for pelts for sale on foreign markets. This is a mass killing and incineration.
As for no natural predators and seals being responsible for low fish stocks, all I gotta say is if that’s the case, then why were there ever fish stocks in the first place? If the seals really are that horrible to the the grand banks, there would never have been fish for our trawlers to take up in the first place.
I’m not against sealing for pelts – go for it, please. And we should eat seal meat, too, for that matter. But what’s going to happen at Sable according to this place is not sealing but an unconscionable massacre. We may as well be shooting down Buffalo from our train cars.
Get with the logic, people.
Great news!! When will they start?
We are treating these animals the same way the Nazis treated the Jews. There was a time when I didn’t care about the seal hunt. Then I watched some self-riteous asshole club the shit out of a helpless animal while it tried to escape at about two miles per hour across an iceberg and my opinion changed. He may as well have been clubbing a golden retriever. Is it okay to do that to increase your business gains? No, it isn’t. That wasn’t a rhetorical question. The degree of cruelty it takes to wipe these things out is outlandish.
Why burn them? There are people starving in this world. Process the seals and donate the meat to soup kitchens, homeless shelters, school lunch programs, etc.
“We are treating these animals the same way the Nazis treated the Jews.”
And we have an early-bird loser!
Godwin’s Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law
The seal population is out of control and NEEDS to be controled. My husband is an offshore fishermen. He puts his life on the line to provide for me and our two small children. We depend on there being enough fish in the sea for both humans and animals. What will happen to my family if the fishery goes under? What will happen to all the families who rely on fishing as a way of life? Is the existence of an over populated seal cull on one small island more valuable than so many Martime familie’s welfare? No, it isn’t; Something must be done.
I disagree that seals are causing the fish shortage. Somehow, when we showed up in North America, there were both abundant fish stocks and seal colonies. That doesn’t include the populations of walrus that used to populate the Gulf of St Lawrence.
The problem is human overfishing of stocks that led to collapse. We’ve also allowed foreign vessels to overfish, using massive factory freezer ships. We let these people drag our ocean bottoms, take the fish to China, and then sell them back to us as “Canadian” fish.
How about we deal with the real problem, and not borrow mobile incineration tactics from the Russian Front in 1942?
Head’s up people, do some research. The seal meat is completely toxic and useless. This seems to be a very well prepared scientific report. If the realities of life in the Atlantic Provinces offend you, I’m sure you can pay $1 million for a 1 bedroom apartment in Toronto.
@ Enviro: Where on earth did you get this idea that seal meat is toxic? Innu people have been surviving on it for longer than we of european descent have been living here.
@Sambro: what will happen to families who rely on fishing for their livelihood? I imagine the same thing that happened to the families who relied on the manufacturing of of buggy whips for their livelihood: Adapt.
OK! To those of you who want to say that this is all about the seals cuteness! You are wrong! The people who ACTUALLY care about the FUTURE of our OCEANS care about all living things in the Oceans. Take Sharks for example… they are definitely NOT cute – but we fight against Shark Finning for a damn tasteless soup! So get it out of your heads! Seals, are sentient beings… they are MAMMALS who have thought and feeling!
This article is appalling! The DFO will have a HUGE fight on their hands if they give this mass incineration the go ahead! DEPLORABLE!
I agree with the cull, but not the methods. There must be some less Draconian method that we can use.
Like it or not, we’re responsible for the current state of the fishery, as well as the state of the seal overpopulation. We’ve got to fix it somehow, because both are out of equilibrium. The fish didn’t get protection because it’s people’s “livelihood”, while the seals did, simply because the seals are cute.
Foxshots— Most people care about the future of the oceans, just as much as you do. Your grandstanding does nothing for your argument. Also, you can thank the people like PETA for making baby seals the face of this issue. It’s much easier to defend a cute baby seal rather than a full grown bull seal. Like it or not, that’s the reality of the situation, which leads to people not looking at it rationally.
Anyone who is still in denial that we are the cause of declining fish stocks in an absolute imbecile. The whole world’s oceans are depleted to an estimated 10% of what they used to be before commercial fishing. I suppose you think the seals are swimming over to Japan/Australia and eating whales? Or the Mediterranean and eating all the tuna too? Morons. The only reason the seal population seems like it has exploded is because we stopped hunting them to the brink of extinction for 10 years or so.
And Inuits don’t live off seal anymore, that’s just gov’t propaganda. Go to Nunavut and tell me they don’t have grocery stores there now like the rest of us. And yes, it is toxic. Everything in the ocean is now toxic, thanks to us. Enjoy your mercury poisoning.
Hmmm…. where did I get the idea that seal meat is toxic? Perhaps toxic is not the right word. What word would you use for a “food” source that has considerable evidence of Brucellosis, Trichinosis, botulism (in their oil) and heavy metals and PCBs (in their blubber). Perhaps these issues were not as prevalent in the past for the Innu, but they are here now. This is well documented by the WHO and CFIA. jennier you are welcome to be first in line for a Sable Island Seal Burger.
And your “adaption” comment to Sambro comparing livelihoods of the fishery in Atlantic Canada to the production of buggy whips does not really help your creditability.
I don’t know what “creditability” is, but the buggy whip comparison harkens to a classic model of an industry that is no longer viable.
Rifles with silencers shooting 220,000 sea mammals on their birthing grounds. Carcass removal, crematoriums, air curtain burners, heavy equipment. Water, air, land and noise pollution on enviromentally sensitive Sable Island, a newly designated National park. Am I in Canada???? Leave Sable Island and everything that makes Sable Island so romantic and magical alone! Sable Island is not just a national treasure it is a global treasure. People from all over the world love Sable Island and will be watching with great interest.
The great thing about Sable Island is its out of sight, so its out of mind.
So let’s get out there and kill everything in sight !
Just don’t tell anyone & no one will be the wiser until you’re done !
Don’t bother incinerating the dead ones, there’s a current that blows through there that’ll take all those carcasses ‘away’.
I actually think that if they would use some of the useful parts, hide & meat etc. We need & use leather products & you get a nice end result from seal skin. As for the meat being toxic, I’ve eaten it in the past, I have family that still enjoy a feed, & they’re not dead yet.
Perhaps the you might look into what is actually toxic & if they were so deadly…why are the Innuit People still eating them on a regular basis & they’re not all dead ?!?
When will people get it through their heads that WE are the problem. The seals and cod have been fine before our appetite and greed took over.
“”We are treating these animals the same way the Nazis treated the Jews.”
And we have an early-bird loser!
Godwin’s Law http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law“
I’m familiar with Godwin’s law but just because someone came up with a clever and ironic observation doesn’t mean you can’t draw a direct comparison in this case. Mass brutal killings, mass cremations… for the love of God, don’t hide behind your cleverness to make this sound okay!
Sounds like fun, how do I get in on the action?
DND air strikes, helicopter gunships, drones, or D-Day re-enactment and the landing craft can remove the bodies and dump them down the adjacent Gully; the water is very deep.
Next problem call me at simplesolutions.ca
1. Is there any scientific evidence to suggest that a cull of seals will lead to an improvement in the fisheries at some level. One would imagine there should be before a cull is implemented.
2. Figures on the amount of fish seals eat are estimates. These animals spend much of their time underwater, out of sight so estimating how much they eat, or even what they eat, is extremely difficult. As you can imagine.
3. The seal population is “not out of control”. That is an emotional statement. The seal population on Sable Island is no longer increasing. The likely reason is the availability of food since there is plenty of space available for breeding on Sable. Thus, nature appears to be controlling itself (!).
4. Lets not forget that toothed whales, dolphins, porpoises and seabirds also eat fish, and of course fish eat fish too. Whales and dolphins are never targeted since they spend ALL of their time underwater and out of our sight.
I love people who capitalize every second word to create an over emphasis to avoid creating a valid argument.
Enviro, after a nominal search on Google, I failed to find any studies that would refute your statement. Would you please provide such documents? I only ask because typically, these sorts of documents are readily available through the internet, if not by the organization, by a reputable news service. All I could find is a poorly edited blog post by someone who cares more about posting sensationalist tripe rather than thinking about it rationally.
The WWF, at the very least may not support a cull, they at least take a understandable, rational, stance to sealing in general.
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/faq/r…
Pay close attention to the passage involving maintaining a population above 5 million adults. Now according to a DFO document I was able to find, the approximate population was listed at 5.9 million seals (the confidence interval was 4.6 million to 7.5 million, of those numbers, only about 1 million are pups). Granted, these figures are 6 years old, but given hunt numbers and relative growth, this hunt (or cull, in the end, it’s a semantic argument) would maintain this level.
Here is the DFO document I referenced: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/Csas/status/…
This is all considering that the IUCN still lists the Harp Seal at LC (least concern).
We created this mess. We have to fix it.
Also, to beca0601: this statement of:
“I really hate the comments about “oh :'( what will happens to my family if the fishing industry goes under?” your husband will have to get a new job that’s what. Times change, deal with it and quit whining. “
This could be applied to any number of traditional, viable businesses that exist in Nova Scotia. You go tell the struggling farmer that because tomatoes from California are much cheaper and better he should go and find a new job. Sometimes it’s just not that easy.
I am a good shot, where do I sign-up for the cull ??
Terrible!!!!!
I can’t even understand how the government can think of such a solution. Why don’t they re- educate their fishermen to do some other work. Now when animals are dying out everywhere and humans are destroying entire eco systems, how can this even be an option???!!!
It is outrages and has to be stopped!!!
they could also spend the money on transferring the seals somewhere else but not slaughtering!!!
I just can’t believe that in 2010 this would happen and it would be the work of the government . They should be out there protecting wild life with all their energy!!!!!
What will be left for our children?????
There are plenty of other fish in the sea – why can’t we just give cod a rest for a while, rather than this violent and what should be illegal act. This is a totally disastrous idea, that will only create widespread devastation. Are they crazy???
Thanks you to the individual on the ball for getting this information to the public. Amazed you were able to do it knowing what a farce the freedom of Info act is…which is apparently as much of a farce as our so called democracy in this country. The only answer to controlling the population is sterilization. No need for the extra expense to conduct a bloody slaughter and inflict untold terro rupon all the wildlife on the island – we shouldn’t be appeasing the thugs of this province, of which I am sorry to say – there are far too many.
There is a much better solution – humans stop eating cod for a while. There are plenty other fish to choose from. This is pointless from an economical standpoint and totally amoral. Are they crazy??? The fisherman need a livelihood, I understand. A general law goes out to ban the fishing of cod making us eat another alternative such as hake. They can then earn a living off fishing hake, or any other fish that can replace cod, even if it’s for a while.
I have to ask again – are they crazy???
As of RIGHT NOW I am boycotting Canadian seafood. Culling seals? I bet they don’t eat nearly as much as the god damn offshore trawlers and draggers!
Further messing with nature is a way of life for the DFO: If all you’ve got is a hammer, then the whole world’s a nail.
God damn you, DFO.
It is utterly disgusting just to see the proposal in writing. If this goes ahead I will never forgive Canada.
The seal and fish populations were both thriving for centuries before trawlers started overfishing and destroying habitat. The politicians and fishermen were warned for 20 years that the cod fishery was not sustainable at the rate they were going and sure enough it collapsed. Its collapse is 100% the fault of the politicians and fishermen and 0% the seals fault. Now they want to spend ridiculous sums of money on a horrendous slaughter that would damage Canada even further as well as disgust and depress a sizable segment of its population and may not even work.
Even if it could be proved that it could save the cod fishery, the cost is inhumane. We have to draw the line somewhere. Atlantic Canada is doing better than it has in a long time and it will be even better if we stop throwing tons of money into this unsustainable, relic industry.
What’s appalling is the way human beings want to control everything.
1- Overfishing and depleting the livestock
2- kill every animal that eats the few remaining fishes
3- What ? kill the people who eat too much ????
Wake up nature is always the strongest.
If they get rid of the seals another predator will come and it is usually a more dangerous one.
It must be sad that the majority of you are nothing but speciesists. I wonder, what makes our pathetic species so special that we’re allowed to destroy non-human populations left and right? Since when did it become our right as “Sentient” beings, to do as we please? Over populated or not, it is not the humans place to say that they must be destroyed. We are just one of thousands and thousand of species, we are no more perfect than any other.
Finally, the last time I thought about, Nature doesn’t mean human. Yet, we steadily try to take its place. Seriously, wise up!
Ah the good old fashioned Speciesist argument, it was bound to show up eventually. Does it occur to you that by applying the concepts of rights and freedoms to animals, we’re committing a form of Speciesism? Animal “rights” are strictly a human invention, I don’t see Beluga whales drafting any charters. But continue to feel free to make arguments that are entirely based upon emotion, and feel free to feel smug and superior to those who might actually feel differently.
I’d say it would be more than prudent that someone would volunteer to wield a rifle for this massacre, and turn it on the other so-called humans and eliminate as many as he can.
I do so very much hate when this becomes a back and forth free for all. For starters, for you to assume that I will feel smug and superior, well…I just don’t have a word for that kind of ignorance. Also, tell me, why would these Belugas need to write charters in the first place?
Alright, maybe the speciesist ideals are taken a bit too far and out of context. But, is it still fair, or right, for our species to just step in and slaughter sentient creatures just because they feel it’s necessary?
I will say this, though they may not have the spoken language that we posess or even as some will think that they don’t have the thinking/rational thought processes that we do, is it not true that they have inhabited this Earth for ( in most cases) millions of years longer than us? Whether rights be a complete human ideal, emotion or not, the fact is, is that we are mere children when it comes to our time on this Earth compared to other life forms of this planet. And whether it be speciesist ideals or plain silly human emotions, to me, any rational, sane person can see the logic in how they deserve rights. Rights, so that they may be free from our tainted thought processess.
You can debate the merits of the seal hunt back and forth all you want. However, I should point out that this cull will not necessarily be implemented. Heck, I’ll bet a lot of money on the fact that it won’t be implemented.
The way the government works is this:
1) Someone complains about a problem.
2) The government looks into the problem. This involves a report by staff or a consultant. In this case, it was a consultant.
3) The report outlines four or five plans of action. This includes a range of actions from the status quo all the way up to the most extreme.
4) The government picks the most politically acceptable option. A lot of the time cost comes into play.
So what I’m trying to say here is that in the report process the consultants are expected to explore as many options as possible, including trucking in incinerators. If they didn’t explore this option it would be a biased report. To think that the incinerator option is 100% what’s going to happen is foolish. If anything, this report has underscored how much of a logistic nightmare it would be to shoot seals on Sable Island. Now when the fishing industry says “shoot all the damn seals already” the goverment can say “it’s going to cost $35 million and involve huge damage to a national park, and we have the report to back it up.”
I will, however, bet money that the seals will be sterilized. It’s a cheaper option, it’s less offensive to the public, and it addresses the fishing industry’s concerns. In other words, it’s a better political choice.
Well if that turns out to be the case, we should do everything in our power to sterilize them, from injections, to exposing them to radiation, to flat-out cutting their fucking cocks off.
The size of a predator’s population is tied mostly on the availability of it’s prey. A predator is only able to take a portion of the prey’s population or the prey (and predator) would have gone extinct long ago. So why do seals have a large population generally speaking while the groundfish are struggling? Probably because seals are not eating the fish in great quantities and the seal’s main predators have been hunted to near extinction. Why are we trying to reduce their numbers? Probably to toss a bone to the fishing industry.
My solution? Do what you can to bring back the populations of those marine animals that can control seal’s numbers. No more shark derbies if they still have that. Try to restore the balance of nature in this ecosystem.
Troodon4…we are predators ~8)
We’re just to busy scarfing fast food & letting the rest of the world attempt to stop the seal hunting in our country. Time for a bunch of couch potatoes to be allowed to go on Seal shooting tours, instead of sitting at home playing shoot ’em up video games .
Be sort of like Whale watching,only you get to shoot the bastards when you see them. COME TO NOVA SCOTIA …SAVE THE WHALES… SHOOT THE SEALS !
(Cheech Marin would be so proud of me)
Damn, that’s a good idea, can you imagine what a great tourist draw that would be for Americans . We get the Government to advertise it throught the ‘tourism’ attractions of Nova Scotia.
Jesus this is a brilliant idea…The tourists PAY TO GO SHOOT THE SEALS !
We create JOBS.
We increase TOURISM
We don’t have to use TAX DOLLARS to handle the seal over population problem.
P.E.T.A. will absolutely lose their FUCKING MINDS …which means they’ll start ad’s & protests & inform EVERYONE, so the amount of money for Tourism ads (paid by taxpayers) will actually decrease.
No matter how you look at it it is a WIN , WIN, WIN , WIN situation we’d be creating. As an after thought, I remember reading crabs & lobsters eat dead critters off the bottom, all those seal carcasses will be helping feed our crustaceans, so we’ll be helping them out as well (this idea just gets even better , the more ways you look at it !)
jake_s you are comparing a fucking seal to a human being are you retarded.
also with a growing human population we need to harvest more food to feed these growing populations.seal meat should be added to our diets.i am sure it tastes good.
we are the greatest predators in earths history and probably its future as well.so lets do our natural job that nature programmed us to do,and effectively deal with the seal population.it could feed a hell of a lot of people.
how can you get a job killing these seals.i am a highly effective shot.
I can only say bravo to The Coast for this investigative reporting.
Bravo to The Coast for this investigative reporting. Can we one day hope that we’ll have a more civilized world than the one we have at present? I fervently hope so.
Why don’t we just call BP they have done a SLICK job of killing everything in the gulf coast.
The problem is that we try to control everything and as we plug one hole it opens another. Just leave nature alone. Its been fine before we were here and will be better when we fuck things up so bad that were not.
Dear Sambro:
You chose your husband. You chose to have children. You choose to work, or not. Your husband chose what he does for a living. You choose what you want to spend your money on. You choose what food you put on your plates. What you didn’t choose was to be born into a human body. You got lucky. And our species is doing fantastically better than any other species whose choices are much more limited.
Those seals probably don’t even choose that island for where they have their babies. That island and its beaches are all they know. Just like some people, who have more choices if they choose to be aware of them, which is what you and your husband are not doing by saying this is your only option to look after your babies.
To Dr Fever – well done, but you are providing links and data about the harp seal – a completely different species than the grey seals of Sable Island, the species that is the subject of the report in question.
Killing a seal is no different than killing a cow, pig, sheep, chicken, duck or anything else. Well there is one difference. The cows, etc are killed in a building with four walls and a roof. The method of death is the same, a blow or bullet to the head. This cull will not make the seals extinct.
The only thing I think is wasteful is cremating the bodies. They should be processed for the pelt, meat, and oils.
Thank you for pointing out my folly 25forever.
I still think it’s valid, document estimates show that 60,000 pups will be born in the upcoming season, meaning within the first year, the population as a whole will be reduced by approx. 40,000 individuals, meanwhile, the remaining 4 years of the cull will only effects the population nominally. Keep in mind that these numbers are strictly numbers, not taking into account the culling of male/female individuals, especially since males will mate with multiple females.
Ideally, I prefer the contraceptive method, but government will choose the most cost-effective, which is most likely kill and burn method.
this never had to be thought of years ago,there were always plenty of fish,for the seals and the rest of the life in the sea,that is untill man came along.
Humans are truly disgusting. Now that we have unwisely overfished to the point where we view seals as competition, humans now want to kill the seals.
Hey fishermen! What don’t you understand? You need to fish less, and more wisely, until fish populations return to the levels they once were. If you keep fishing at the unsustainable level you have been, eventually ALL of the fish will be gone! Then you will have to find a different way to support your family anyway.
Leave the seals alone! The problem of “not enough fish” didn’t exist before men’s “modern” fishing methods did. Seals are not the problem. You taking more fish than can replenish themselves, is.
Buddhism affirms the unity of all living beings, all equally posses the Buddha-nature, and all have the potential to become Buddhas, that is, to become fully and perfectly enlightened. Among the sentient, there are no second-class citizens. According to Buddhist teaching, human beings do not have a privileged, special place above and beyond that of the rest of life. The world is not a creation specifically for the benefit and pleasure of human beings. Furthermore, in some circumstances according with their karma, humans can be reborn as humans and animals can be reborn as humans. In Buddhism the most fundamental guideline for conduct is ahimsa-the prohibition against the bringing of harm and/or death to any living being. Why should one refrain from killing? It is because all beings have lives; they love their lives and do not wish to die. Even one of the smallest creatures, the mosquito, when it approaches to bite you, will fly away if you make the slightest motion. Why does it fly away? Because it fears death. It figures that if it drinks your blood, you will take its life. . . . We should nurture compassionate thought. Since we wish to live, we should not kill any other living being. Furthermore, the karma of killing is understood as the root of all suffering and the fundamental cause of sickness and war, and the forces of killing are explicitly identified with the demonic. The highest and most universal ideal of Buddhism is to work unceasingly for permanent end to the suffering of all living beings, not just humans.
The first of the five precepts bans the taking of life. As most narrowly interpreted, it applies primarily to the killing of human beings; however, the broader interpretation is that it applies to all sentient beings, which includes those in the animal realm in its broadest sense, i.e., not just mammals, but all animal taxa including insects, and invertebrates. From the beginnings of Buddhism, there were regulations intended to prevent the harming of sentient beings in the animals realm for various reasons. The Buddha taught that all sentient beings, including those in the animal realm, possess Buddha nature and therefore can attain enlightenment and that from infinite rebirths, all animals have been our past relatives, sisters, mothers, brothers, fathers and children. Therefore it is against the first precept to harm, kill or eat sentient beings as it is the same as harming, killing or eating the flesh of our own child or mother.
The doctrine of right livelihood teaches Buddhists to avoid any work connected with the killing of animals The doctrine of karma teaches that any wrong behaviour will have to be paid for in a future life – so cruel acts to animals should be avoided Buddhists treat the lives of human and non-human animals with equal respect Buddhists see human and non-human animals as closely related: both have Buddha-nature both have the possibility of becoming perfectly enlightened a soul may be reborn either in a human body or in the body of a non-human animal Buddhists believe that is wrong to hurt or kill animals, because all beings are afraid of injury and death: All living things fear being beaten with clubs. All living things fear being put to death. Putting oneself in the place of the other, Let no one kill nor cause another to kill. Dhammapada 129.
Buddhist are goddamn fools.all life is from the death of something.
they use the word enlightened.i would rather say their idiots.
Dear Princess Portia…if god didn’t want us to kill & eat animals, god wouldn’t have made them out of MEAT ! If as you say all life is precious & God didn’t want us to kill other living things, animals wouldn’t be killing & eating other animals… but they are, so does this mean they will come back again ? Killing plants…isn’t that also killing something that is alive…or is that a ‘special case’ because after all we as humans are incapable of living off just water & air.
And let us not forget that most sacred commandment, (which unfortunately has been condensed form its true form)which I will write out in its entirety,for everyone.
“Thou Shall Not Kill, Unless the person You Kill Worships A Different Invisible All Powerful All Knowing Entity than ME “- GOD
P.S. Be well & Have a nice day.
Princess Portia, since all living beings have lives, why are Buddists killing and eating living beings. like plants. Buddists are killers too. At least meat based products have a chance to escape. The poor plants don’t have that luxury.
This is a scientific argument, not a religious one. Stay on target!
Buddhism also teaches that it’s okay to not obtain enlightenment, so that view of Buddhism is very narrow and biased.
====We are treating these animals the same way the Nazis treated the Jews. ====
Godwin and Moses on lines 2 and 3.
This action to cull out the seal population is totally unacceptable! There is no reason in this world why this even makes any sense at all. This is utterly and cruelly inhumane and will upset the delicate balance of nature in that area. Man has no right to kill innocent animals just because they think it should be done. What is the matter with you idiots? Have you no hearts or brains or common sense? I demand that you stop and cancel your plans for this annihilation. I know tourism is very important to Canada’s economy. If you go ahead with this horrible massacre, we will spread the word of this far and wide, all over the world. I know that millions of people are against this horrible decision. So, please reconsider and change your plan and let those beautiful animals live out their life the way nature intended them to. Respectfully Yours, Ginny Grove Messier, Falling Waters, West Virginia, USA e-mail ginnylvsdogs@gmail.com
@ GinnyGroveMessier, My idea is to use that favorite plan of you Americans & that’s to exploit this resource. Turning it into a tourism draw, Americans come here & shoot the seals. Good hunting for them, good tourism revenue for the outfitters, boat operators, hotels etc. etc.
I agree with not having the Gov spend our tax dollars doing a scheme like the story, way better to make money at it, than spending money on it
Ahhhhhhh, capitalism ~;)
Oh no! One less American!
Well I’ve seen some fucked things in my life and this is right up there with the best of them.
I love how on every single board that one goes to, every single forum, there is always one total douche who thinks he knows everything…who posts in response to everyone’s comments (and whose life probably revolves around said board) and who NEVER admits that he may not be a COMPLETE specialist ON EVERYTHING!
(and if that were true, why do you spend your entire life on message boards and forums? mmm?)
Not only that, but this person usually also acts as though his is the most interesting and well-thought out opinion, but he is basically George Dubya Bush…except without the money and living in his mom’s basement.
Dr. Fever, your opinions are completely uninteresting and basically you just repeat the status quo like a good little drone.
Keep on thinking that you have original well-informed ideas, while really all that is coming out of your mouth is : “McDonald’s, Coca-cola, Nike, Apple and Microsoft are my masters, and I love my governement and all its wonderful elected offcials sooo much…let’s all grow a mustache so that we can all look like big brother.”
Try thinking critically and considering different viewpoints for once in your pathetic life.
1. You are a speciesist. And all manner of idiotic circular arguments, will not justify that viewpoint. Peter Singer tried and failed, and on that he based his entire philosophical ethics (most of which apply not only to how we treat other species, but how we treat each other…you know hoping to one day achieve peace on earth. (go ahead and prove to me how you know Peter Singer more than me because you looked him up on wikipedia…oh! and find some anti-Peter Singer quote somewhere online and post it here…I double-dare you.
2. Your government and big business are LYING to you. And you are a naive moron to not realize it.
3. You are plugged in to the matrix. You are such a fool. You only eat meat and other animal products because you have been always doing it. What kind of person adamantly supports an idea JUST because they have always been doing it?
How can ANY intelligent person support a lifestyle choice, and instead of proving that it is the best choice for the human species and the environment, instead just says: cuz we have always been doin’ it. BRILLIANT! (Can I build a small shrine to you now?)
WOW You even know more than BUddha and EVERY SINGLE buddhist about budhism… From which online forum did you get your PhD? 😉
Imagine if that logic applied to other things…a person would keep on being a racist skinhead, just because he has always done it. Another would keep on being a loser alcoholic who beats his wife, because that’s what his dad did, and why shouldn’t he do it as well?
An intelligent person will break the chain! …THINK FOR HIMSELF and consider that maybe…just maybe, his viewpoint may be wrong (especially considering that it is the common doxa, or the viewpoint of the majority of idiots in the world)…now that does not NECESSARILLY mean that it is wrong…it may also be right…but in order to discover this, YOU need to REALLY CONSIDER that your viewpoint may be wrong… Actually consider it (not just read about animal rights and environmentalism on wikipedia)!
And THAT is how a real mind is used…but then again “forum champs” like you, rarely have one anyway.
Vegantoine— I beg to differ. my opinions might not be as informed as your skewed viewpoint, but hey, at least I was the only person willing to look at the data and argue for it rationally. Everyone here that was against is strictly posting a reactionary comment, without rebutting the argument.
I really don’t care what you think about me either; you obviously see yourself as someone who sees themselves as someone who questions every aspect of society. You come on forums and post the same drivel as you just did, claiming that anyone that posts an opinion for anything that might not align with your ideals, is someone who is just for a mouth piece for the government/corporations. There’s an undeniable arrogance there.
Yup. I guess I see myself as someone who sees himself as arrogant. lol.
Keep up the great work. Make sure you check the site everyday (and all the other forums that you rule) so that you can give your informed opinion. I am sure you have an entire Dr.Fever fanbase.
🙂
Keep attacking the person, not the argument!
FUCK THE CANADIAN GOVT LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT CANADA IS PLANNING. AND LET THEM JUDGE.
FUCK THE CANADIAN GOVT LET THE WORLD KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE PLANNED THEY LOVE THE U.S. A. OIL SPILL TO TAKE ALL THE ATTENTION OFF THIS FUCKED UP PLAN.
ok, so this isn’t nearly as well thought out as this topic and article deserve but I’m compelled to say something here, so here goes:
@ xSIXXESx,
“we are the greatest predators in Earth’s history and probably it’s future as well. So lets do our natural job that nature programed us to do.”
So with all nature has given you to be the greatest predator in Earth’s history, how well do you think you’d survive in the following conditions: A tanle with a full grown lion?, swim with a great white shark?, a wresting match with a 15ft long boa?, fuck could you even survive a spider bite if you couldn’t get to the hospital in time??? ummmm no, no you couldn’t, wanna know why? We are the WEAKEST animal in this planets history so much so that we had to make it unrecognizeable to survive in it. People like you almost make me yearn for the day when the sun goes down and doesn’t come back up, when the power goes out and there’s no one left who knows how to turn it on. Fuck greatest predators in the Earth’s history or future! What about dinosaurs, for crying out loud, have you even been hunting before? You know grocery shopping isn’t hunting right? ok that’s enough now. I hope you are at least bitten by a dog in the near future.