Stop the Sable Island Seal Slaughter
A recent proposal prepared for the Government of Canada would see 220,000 grey seals killed and incinerated in their protected Sable Island nursery.
The proposal reads like a horror novel:
-- Hunters would storm the beaches at dawn and begin slaughtering baby seals by shooting them in the head with prohibited silencer-equipped rifles
-- The slaughtered seals would then be grabbed by a loader machine specially modified to carry the carcasses.
-- They'd be loaded onto dump trucks to be transported to portable incinerators where they'd be burned.
-- Each truck would be filled in 10 minutes, and would run 24/7 and for 25 days straight.
To reach the proposed number of 220,000 seals, the cull and disposal program would run at birthing time each year for about five years and cost Canadian taxpayers an estimated $35 million.
Please urge the Canadian government to categorically reject this outrageous proposal.
Sign our petition today to ensure that Sable Island's grey seal population is spared this sickening slaughter, and that the island remains a protected habitat for seals.
Dear Madam Minister,
A report prepared recently for the Government proposed that 220,000 grey seals be shot and incinerated in their protected Sable Island nursery.
This horrific proposal includes shooting pups with silencer-equipped rifles, loading them onto dump trucks with a specially modified grabber machine, and transporting them to incinerators - all at a taxpayer cost of $35 million.
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Of course, this disgusting grey seal massacre will not help the recovery of depleted cod stocks.
Culling of marine mammals has never been shown to benefit any commercial fish stock. According to your own scientists, the current state of cod stocks is the result of the long-term effects of overfishing - not grey seals. In addition, the DFO National Workshop on the Impacts of Seals on Fish Populations in Eastern Canada concluded that there is no analysis to suggest that fewer grey seals would have a positive effect on fish stock recovery.
I demand that your Department reject this outrageous and scientifically unjustified plan.
