Sea Shepherd heading to East Coast seal hunt

[Guest guest]

Anti-sealing vessel heading to East Coast hunt Canwest News ServicePublished: Friday, March 21, 2008 OTTAWA -- For the first time since 2005, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is heading back to East Coast ice floes to monitor the annual seal hunt. The animal rights organization's ship, the Farley Mowat, will leave Bermuda for the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Monday with an international crew of volunteers, founder Paul Watson says on the Sea Shepherd website. The date for the hunt has not yet been set, but when it does begin, new rules will require sealers to ensure an animal is dead before it's bled out or skinned. If the seal is still alert, hunters will have to cut the main artery to ensure a quick death. View Larger Image A pup harp seal rests on the ice floes off the coast of the Magdalen Islands, Quebec. (Getty Images) Watson derided the claim that the new rules make the hunt more "humane," and called it a glorified welfare scheme. The quota for this year's hunt was set at 275,000 animals, 5,000 more than last year, without any scientific or market

justification, he added. While there are 5.5 million harp seals off the East Coast - triple the population of 30 years ago - Canada is facing increasing pressure to end or limit the hunt. Belgium and the Netherlands have passed laws banning the import of seal products, and the European Union is poised to consider similar legislation. Sealers in the Magdalen Islands and on Quebec's Lower North Shore use both rifles and hakapiks, a heavy wooden club with a hook on the end that is used to drag the carcass. Sealers on the ice floes east of Newfoundland, where 70 per cent of the hunt occurs, primarily use rifles. With files from National Post © Canwest News Service 2008 http://pets.Fortheanimals7/join