I haven't been on the boards in a while, but i came on today and noticed this post--I had expected to see one on the seal hunt.  As a Newfoundlander, I feel it is my duty to clear a few things up.

Firstly, I can see how devastating it sounds when you read about the hunt through PETA's eyes.  However, I want to remind you that you mustn't believe everything you hear.  I'm sure none of you have ever been on the ice floes of Newfoundland (my home province), much less witnessed the hunt.  You have no idea of the poverty my province faces, nor the debt our government attempts to surmount.  Furthermore, you probably have no idea that Peta's stats are fallacious.  It is illegal to kill whitecoats (baby seals) in Newfoundland.  ILLEGAL.  So please, let's clear that up here and now.  It is impossible (indeed ludicrous) that 97% of seals slaughtered are babies.  And contrary to popular belief, sealers are NOT barbaric, they have been using guns to kill seals for decades now, NOT clubs (not that I condone the killing of ANY animal, I just want people to understand that it is done in a much more humane way--the reason the seal slaughter gets so much attention is because of how cute seals are--relative to a cow, for example--if you want to save an animal, save a dairy cow from the horror it faces).  If you've seen videos from the mid-nineties of a horrific seal slaughter, we've seen them too, and were just as horrified.  Those men have since been tried and jailed. 

Please understand that this whole campaign is blowing things out of proportion.  The only person who killed a baby seal is Linda McCartney, when she so ignorantly left her scent on a whitecoat after snuggling up with him for a publicity shot.  The mother of that seal would have abandoned her baby after smelling Linda's scent.

I would personally support Peta if they presented an accurate portrayal of the hunt and offered feasible alternatives to the seal hunt for so many of the Newfoundlanders who are doomed to a life on the ice.  Many sealers lose their lives each year during the hunt because of the harsh conditions they are subjected to while hunting.  Many of these men left school  in their early teens or never attended at all, and have little else to turn to for a living.  If you want to see a positive change, come and teach illiterate fisherman and sealers how to read and offer them a better life.  Otherwise, please think critically before you act.  I understand how disgusted and upset you feel after reading something as horrific as this (I would too), but I want you to understand that there is a lot of misinformation out there.  And remember, I practice a vegan lifestyle... and am currently studying to be a yoga teacher, which requires me to respect ahimsa---I am not here to tell you that killing seals is right.  I am just here to offer you the facts.  Our province is suffering the "terrible injustice" here.  We've already experienced severe blows to our tourism industry because of last year's aggressive campaigning.  You are not helping solve the problem by supporting this campaign.  If you are truly concerned, please write Peta asking them to present an accurate account of the seal hunt and to offer alternatives... for that I would thank-you.