A Part of-the annual spring seal hunt on the north shore of P.E.I. earlier this week, providing the general public with the rare opportunity of ' witneSsing the hunt first—

hand, causing sote reflection .

on the whole process.

This situation has sparked an especially ' concerted effort on the

part. of the seal hunt protest

groups. Peter liykstra of Greenpeace has said, "With the iCe up against the shore of Prince Edward Island, the inhuman aspects take on an ‘ even more gruesore air.

The seals haven't core to P.E.I._ in over ten years, and the sealers. who have applied for firmits will be danger0usly inexperienced. It will be a horrible spectacle, with shore;- bound harp seals at the mercy of the hunters."

It is unfortunate that permits were granted to Island- fishermen because

most were lacking the skills necessary—for a clean kill

and skinning. "Ewen thembst V

experienced hunters have ;difficulties, at times, because of the protective role of blubber which the seal may draw it's head into. This,along with the occasional nature of the seal pups to play dead when threatened, results in the effect that at times the pups are skinned while still conscious. A press release, issued tuesday, through the combined efforts of three protest groups states, "Harp sealpups were skinned alive during the P.E.I. seal'hunt yes- terday. William Murphy, ‘ Fisheries Canada Area Man- ager for P.E.I., said that there were several incidents

v

in Which seal pups “ Were skinned before they lost consciousness." Similar claims have been fomarded by hunt opponents for years, but never before admitted to by Fisheries. '

A halt to the P.E.I. Of Fisheries. The end of the slaughter was attributed to "sloppy and

wasteful hunting by inexper -

ienced sealers". However, Doug Mulhall of Greenpeace said that the abrupt end

to the hunt was a result of the fact that "The eyes of the anti-seal hunt groups and the international media are focused on P.E.I."

Stephen Best of the Int-

erhatioual Fund for Animal " Welfare added, "The hunt was taking place as little

as 20 ‘feet offshore. If

they (Fisheries) can't regulate the hunt there, they can't regUlate it any- where". This press release points out sore of the pol- itical nature of the seal hunt, which becores more apparent in the question of

monitoring the Seal population ' levels. ‘

Federal Fisheries auth—

orities claim that relatively

acourate population counts

are made to prevent overkill.

But, depending on whose report you look at, the seals are either in danger of extermination, or not.

The Canadian government reports maintain that the seal herds are large enough

'to withstand the losses incurred by the hunt.

On the other hand, sore U.S. reports show that the seals could be near ‘ ten years. _Who do

we believe? “

The Canadian ment undoubtedly has sore . interest in seeing the hunt -_ continue, specifically '

_ mmt has been declared by the Can—

Jillzzafraigdmof Jame Thursday, March 12, 1981, page 3

{35*‘;”'ThinkAb0

ut‘ It~

withregards to the economic benefits gained by New- foundland fishermen. Other- wise regulations would not have been put into effect harming protesters from the seal hmt grounds and photography of the hunt from within a half-mile radius. But the point has been made, and even suggested by Greenpeace, that the money spent by

the government on seal hunt management or that spent on

protest by Greenpeace would

be sufficient to pay the

[men not to hunt.

Unfortunately, public reaction to the hunt is based mostly on an emotional reaction to the visual aspects of the hunt and rarely goes beyond this aspect. ‘

The sight of clubs and blood covered ice does not sit .well, for most people, with the appearance of a

' young white seal. pup lying

helplessly alongside its. mother. This “gruesote spectacle" aspect of the hunt has been used to its full emotional extent by

the media and protest groups in order to promote their ~ cause. Granted that some form of impact must be used to gain public attention

and support, it is unfortunate

that the greater issue behind

' p the seal hunt is rarely

j “ thought about or brought I to the public's attention.

' _It is important, in

\ dealing with this issue, , to forget about the spectacle

of the underlying implications. What are we doing?

Whether or not the seal is in danger of immediate extermination, the most questionable aspect of this hunt, or for that matter any trapping, is why kill solely for the purpose of acquiring fur. The animals killed in the hunt are not used for any other purpose. The entire remaining carcass is left to rot, except for the skin, which is used purely as a cosmetic, luxury item to beautify our species. All things considered, the skin looked better on the original owner.

On the aspect of endangering species, it is difficult enough to reconcile the fact that many are lost through the encroachment and byproducts of our civilization, but to aggravate this situation with thequest for a luxury item is the real issue which deserves outrage.

This general problem of our attitude towards other Species, due largely to the human superiority complex, has resulted in the situation where, whatever our claims to intelligence are, we remain "smart but not wise". Until the. majority "of people becote ever conscious of the complex ecolgical interdependencies on Our planet, events like the seal hunt will continue to wear down the resources which, however abstract from ourselves, are ultimately necessary for our own survival. 7

of the hunt and concentrate

internal candidates .

“me Search Committee for a Director of the School of Business Administration invites nominations and applications for the position. It is not necessary to abtain the potential candidate's agreement to stand before submitting the name to the Search Com- mittee. "Ihe position is open [to external as well as

Nominations and applications should be sent to: Dr. Peter Meincke, President .University of Prince Edward Island

The deadline for applications is 15 April, 1981.