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AR-NEWS Digest 610
Topics covered in this issue include:
1) Giant "vegetarian" armadilloes once roamed Florida
by Vegetarian Resource Center
2) [UK] Health chief won't rule out more beef bans
by David J Knowles
3) [SG] Cats banned, dogs must be tiny in most of Singapore
by David J Knowles
4) ISRAEL- ACTION ALERT - RABIES
by erez ganor
5) (US) Oklahoma Anti-HSUS Letter to the Editor
by JanaWilson
6) (US) Oklahoma Weekly Hunting News
by JanaWilson
7) (US) Oklahoma Imported Antelope Project
by JanaWilson
8) (US) California Considering Import Ban on Turtles, Frogs for Markets
by Dena Jones
9) Fur Article in the Post
by Hillary
10) (Ca)Mowat compares seal hunt with Holocaust
by Ty Savoy
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 00:32:58 -0500
From: Vegetarian Resource Center
To: AR-News@Envirolink.Org
Subject: Giant "vegetarian" armadilloes once roamed Florida
Message-ID: <199712210533.AAA30381@mailnfs0.tiac.net>
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Giant "vegetarian" armadilloes once roamed Florida
By Patricia Zengerle
MIAMI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Long before the first northerners roared down its
highways in oversize convertibles, Florida's landscape was dotted with another
sort of giant -- refrigerator-size armadillos.
University of Florida researchers said on Tuesday they had confirmed that a
skull dug up in a central Florida limestone quarry this fall belonged to a
600-pound (270-kg), 6-foot (2 meter) armadillo, which made its home in the
state about 10,000 years ago.
``The skull belonged to one of two species of giant armadillo that lived in
Florida during the Pleistocene Epoch, and its unusually good preservation
makes it one of only a handful of its kind in the United States,'' said Russ
McCarty, a senior biological scientist at the University of Florida in
Gainesville, who unearthed the skull.
Researchers said the prehistoric armadillos, known as Holmesina
septentrionalis, like their smaller modern counterparts, spread to what now is
Florida from South America.
Ground sloths, tapirs and other animals followed the same route, McCarty said.
But while modern armadillos lived on termites, ants and beetles, the ancient
ones must have eaten something more substantial. McCarty said he hoped that
studying the skull would yield clues such as traces of pollen that could
reveal what the creatures ate.
``Unless there were two-pound bugs and foot-long slugs, I don't know,'' he
told Reuters. ``They were certainly not carnivores... They might have gone to
a more vegetarian diet.''
McCarty said the armadillo skull, found in September in a limestone quarry
west of Gainesville, was the best of its type ever found in Florida.
Researchers say the giant armadillos roamed Florida at the end of the
Pleistocene Age, along with mammoths, mastodons and giant ground sloths, all
of which became extinct with the massive climate change that occurred at the
end of the ice age.
And, he noted, giant armadillos had another companion as well: humans are
known to have been living in the area at the same time.
``By probably 11 or 12,000 years ago, we know that humans were already in
Florida. They probably encountered these,'' McCarty said.
^REUTERS@
20:45 12-16-97
©1997 Maynard S Clark Vegetarian Resource Center info@vegetarian.org
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 23:39:55
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [UK] Health chief won't rule out more beef bans
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>From The Electonic Telegraph - Sunday, December 21st, 1997
Health chief won't rule out more beef bans
By Victoria Macdonald, Health Correspondent
SIR Kenneth Calman, the Chief Medical Officer, has refused to rule out
further meat bans just weeks after he halted sales of T-bone steaks and
bone marrow.
Speaking for the first time since a ban on the sale of beef on the bone was
announced, Sir Kenneth said the time was approaching when scientists could
claim that the parts of the cow still able to be eaten were safe.
"It is getting closer to there being no more bans and it is unlikely that
there will be any more, but it is not impossible," he said. He accepted
that the risk to human health of eating beef on the bone was "small, even
negligible". But he insisted a ban was necessary.
The Government faced a backlash after announcing the ban on the sale and
import of bone marrow and beef on the bone, which came into effect on
December 17. At one stage Tony Blair appeared to distance the Government
from the decision by emphasising that it was on the CMO's advice that the
ban had been instituted.
But Sir Kenneth told The Telegraph that he stood by the decision. "The
evidence indicated that the dorsal root ganglia - in the spinal cord nerves
- and bone marrow contained the infective agent associated with BSE. The
numbers of animals with infected bone marrow and dorsal root ganglia which
have got in to the food chain are likely to be small, but it is difficult
to quantify and that is part of the judgment that had to be made."
When the ban was announced it was pointed out that the statistical chances
of contracting CJD from infected beef on the bone were far less than of
drowning in the bath, being struck by lightning or dying in a plane crash.
But he said: "This is not a theoretical risk, but a real risk. It is small,
even negligible, but we have to take action. We know from experiments that
one gramme is all you have to eat to contract CJD if it is infected with
the prion protein. Each of the dorsal root ganglia has half a gramme."
The decision to extend the ban was taken following experiments on a series
of calves which were deliberately infected with BSE. A range of tissues
were then injected into mice. The initial results led to the bans on offal
and the spinal cord. But three months ago scientists began to detect the
prion protein, the infective agent which causes BSE and CJD, its human
form, in the dorsal root ganglia and bone marrow of cattle aged 38 months.
While no cattle aged over 30 months are meant to enter the food chain, the
scientists are working on a nine-month leeway. Sir Kenneth said the results
started to come through at the end of August. "One result in one mouse
alerts you, but over the next month a number of mice became infected with
BSE."
At the end of September Sir Kenneth asked the Spongiform Encephalopathy
Advisory Committee to assess the findings. At the beginning of December,
data on the risk to public health was passed to the CMO and he advised
ministers to instigate the ban.
However, Sir Kenneth remains concerned that much of the attention has been
focused on T-bone steaks and not on the bone marrow. "People can make a
choice about beef on the bone, but bone marrow is in stocks and soups and
stews and gravies." He also said that there was no evidence to support a
ban on any parts of lamb. "There is no evidence that sheep flock have got
BSE - you have to be sensible."
Sir Kenneth also held out the hope that some of the current bans could be
reversed in the future, but the first step had to be the development of
diagnostic techniques for BSE and CJD.
© Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997.
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 1997 23:59:29
From: David J Knowles
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: [SG] Cats banned, dogs must be tiny in most of Singapore
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>From The Vancouver Sun Website - December 21st, 1997
Cats banned, dogs must be tiny in most of Singapore
JASMINA KUZMANOVIC
SINGAPORE (AP) – The woman's voice broke when she answered a phone call
about a newspaper ad offering her family's three-year-old German shepherd
to a good home.
"We love our dog so much, but neighbors reported on us and we must give it
away," said Anlita, a working mother of three. "The kids are terribly
upset. But we have no other choice."
It was a classic case of civil disobedience gone bad, Singapore-style. By
keeping a large dog, the family was breaking the law.
This small Southeast Asian island state is one of the world's 10 richest
countries, yet official statistics say only four per cent of its households
have dogs, making a walk in the park with Fido a rare sight.
The reason is that restrictions on pets are just as tight, if not tighter,
than Singapore's better-known bans on littering, spraying graffiti, chewing
gum, jaywalking, spitting on the sidewalk or failing to flush public toilets.
Hit especially hard are residents of the government-subsidized apartment
complexes that are home to almost 80 per cent of Singapore's three million
people, including Anlita's family.
The whole cat species is forbidden to tenants of such housing, although a
number of stubby-tailed strays live on the streets, mewling for handouts
and scavenging in plastic trash bags outside restaurants.
Only "toy" breeds of dogs are allowed, and no more than one per apartment.
They must not bark excessively and must always be leashed when outside.
Fines for keeping an unlicensed dog or letting it run free can cost
hundreds of dollars.
Cats are forbidden because of their inclination to get outside and roam
about, officials say. Parts of apartments, such as storage rooms or even
kitchens, generally do not have closed windows, so it is almost impossible
to keep a cat inside.
The few Singaporeans who live in private homes can keep larger dogs. But
for some breeds, such as mastiffs or bulldogs, owners must take out a
100,000 Singapore dollars ($67,000 US) liability insurance policy against
any potential damage to people or property.
Officials say the pet laws prevent uncontrolled breeding and help keep the
city clean.
Deirdra Moss of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said
the law reflects Singapore's "highly organized" society.
"Even many people who love animals don't keep them," she said. "And that is
a pity, because pets are great stress-relievers.
James Tan, a property agent, would like to keep a cat, but he and his
girlfriend live in a subsidized apartment.
"The Singapore authorities have no heart for cats and dogs," he said. "It's
a cruel policy."
Copyright The Vancouver Sun/Southam Newspapers 1997
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 12:05:12 +0200
From: erez ganor
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org" ,
Adolfo Sansolini - LAV ,
Alan Cooper ,
Animal Rights Hawaii ,
"ar-wire@waste.org" ,
"AVAR@igc.apc.org" ,
"BanFurNow@aol.com" ,
Barbara Harkaway ,
"bchorush@frugal.com" ,
Bob Schlesinger ,
Born Free ,
"BreachEnv@aol.com David" ,
"CFN-Views@can-inc.com" ,
Elizabeth S Kent ,
Glenn Hunt ,
"Howard J. Hoffman" ,
In Defense of Animals ,
Karin Zupko ,
PETA Nederland ,
Peter Singer , rhus ,
Subject: ISRAEL- ACTION ALERT - RABIES
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We Need your Urgent Help!
Mr Dan Kritchman - Director General of the Israeli Ministry of
Agriculture,Declared
That all stray and wild animal should be killed.
On a radio interview which he gave this morning, he said the wild
animals in Israel are the one causing eruption of diseases and damage
the agriculture.
He said that Due to the "Green People" Humans will have to be closed
behind bars, while animals will move free, since they have more rights
than people...
The Israeli Nature Reservation Authority started on Saturday December 20
with mass killing in the Galilee Region and the Sharon region. the Mass
killing refers to Dogs, cats, Foxes, Wolves,jackals,hyaena etc.
Head of The Authority admitted they are killing since it is cheaper than
the Oral Vaccinations, also he claims the benefit of using the Oral
Vaccination was never proved....
Please help us stop this madness!
Please fax to the Below offices and protest against the mass killing of
Stray and wildlife.
you can suggest an alternatives such as the Oral Rabies Vaccination,
that is being used in other countries ( although, Prof. Shimshoni - Head
of Vet services in the Ministry of Agriculture keeps finding excuses why
it can't be used in Israel).
Please say you are going to send copies to the Israeli Embassies in your
own countries, and also a thereat to boycott Israeli Agriculture
products or Tourism can be good pressure
on the State of Israel to stop the mass killing.
1) Minister of Agriculture - Mr. Refael Eitan
Fax:+972-3-6968899
2) Mrs. Nehama Ronen - Director General, Ministry of Environment
fax:+ 972-3-6913893
3) Ministry of Health
Fax: +972-2-6787662
4) Ministry of Finance
Fax:+972-2-5635769
5) The Vet' services in the Agriculture Ministry _ Professor Shimshoni
Fax: +972-3-9681573
Please also Fax to the Palestinian Authority Chief of Cabinet - Mr. Isam
R. Shawa,
Fax:+972-7-824090, ask the Palestinian Authority to enforce an Anti
Rabies policy which will prevent Rabies in the Area. Urge the
Palestinian Authority to act in the most humane way, Please. you can
state that shooting all the animals is not the appropriate solution.
I wish to thank you all for your support.
Erez Ganor.
Fax:
Ask the P. Authority to make efforts in order to fight the Rabies (
since rabied dogs are very common in their territories, and so far they
were doing nothing to stop the disease from spreading).
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 11:20:40 EST
From: JanaWilson
To: AR-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Anti-HSUS Letter to the Editor
Message-ID: <75cc0a8f.349d41da@aol.com>
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This letter was published in Sunday's Okla. City newspaper:
Animals Being Exploited
TO THE EDITOR:
In his Nov. 29th letter to "Your Views," Paul Irvwin, President
of the HSUS, attempted to gloss over the charges of extremism
irresponsibility leveled against the HSUS. Unfortunately, the
seriousness of these issues demands more than a simple public
relations exercise. For both the animals and those caring people
who are duped into donating money to the HSUS, nothing less than
the truth will do.
Irwin asserts, and correctly so, that shelters are critically important
community institutions that need support and assistance, yet he freely
admits the HSUS does not run a single one. Instead, he says, the
HSUS "publishes an award-winning magazine and holds an annual
exposition for shelter staff that draws thousands." How much benefit
do the animals really receive from the glossy covers of the HSUS
News? None. Is an animal in a shelter made more comfortable by a
convention hall filled with exhibits? No. The money would be better
spent on improved facilities, food, medicines and other necessities
that directly impact the comfort of the animals.
If throwing piles of money into conventions and magazines does not
benefit the animals, then why does the HSUS continue to do so?
The answer if that the HSUS has become a business. Much of the
$40 million raised each year is spent on slick advertising campaigns
designed to do nothing more than perpetuate the HSUS's own
existence. In the words of a 13-year HSUS employee, Robert Baker:
"The Humane Society should be worried about protecting animals
from cruelty. It's not doing that. The place is all about power and
money." The Better Business Bureau has issued a report on the
HSUS citing "reporting irregularities" that suggested an under-reporting
of its fundraising costs. The BBB said the HSUS includes so many
appeals for donations in its educational materials that it's
impossible to separate educational from fundraising expenses. Even
the animal-rights newsletter, "Animal People" warns donors away
from the HSUS.
"The HSUS built the structure and image for present financial
success during the animal welfare movement of the 1950s and
early 1960s. The HSUS still raises funds by encouraging the
misconception that it is an unbrella for animal shelters, yet puts less
funding into shelter work each year than hundreds of individual
high donors."
The money raised by the HSUS should be a means towards providing
care and assistance to animals. Instead, the animals are exploited
as the vehicle thru which the HSUS solicits ever more donations.
(Signed by) Mishka McCowan
Public Affairs Specialist
Americans for Medical Progress
Alexandria,
VA
For the Animals,
Jana, OKC
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 12:09:02 EST
From: JanaWilson
To: Ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Weekly Hunting News
Message-ID: <4899c55a.349d4d30@aol.com>
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A/w local Okla. City hunting news:
A new group of Ducks Unlimited members plans a fund-raising
banquet on Jan. 9 at the Oklahoma City's Quail Creek Country
Club. Billed as the "Good Ole Boys Banquet", the event will
begin with a social hour followed by a banquet and silent and
live auctions. Tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for "greenwings".
Corporate tables are also available.
Guide JB Bennet of Okmulgee, (918) 756-0830, reports
some "fantastic" cold weather fishing below the Fort Gibson
Dam. One big string caught by Bennet and a customer
weighed more than 300 pounds. Bennet said " All the fish
were caught drifting while jigs under weighted corks casted
above the cable. We were catching strings like this on a daily
basis. Since 1 Dec., we've boated over 50 blue catfish and
stripers that weighed over 20 pounds each. The largest blue
catfish was 38 pounds, and the largest striper has been
28 pounds."
Mr. Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla. took home a $9,000 check
for his fourth-place finish in the BASS Texas Invitational
Tournament at Lake Sam Rayburn. Biffle weighed in 34 lbs and
11 ounces, to take the point lead in the Central Division. The
Texas winner, Mike Metzier of Birmingham, Ala., had 40.04
to collect $40,000.
The Oklahoma Wildlife Diversity Program is offering for
sale the new Dial-A-Bird House, built by Oklahoma veterans,
a unique, patented bird house that allows you to attract different
kinds of birds by setting a three-holed dial to the type of bird you
want in the house.
In addition, birds such as house sparrows can be excluded by
setting the dial at smaller setting. The house is made of Okla.
red cedar and comes already constructed.
The house comes from Dial-A-Bird and sells for $18 at the Okla.
Wildlife Dept. offices in Okla. City and Tulsa. To order by mail
send a check for $21 to the Oklahoma Wildlife Diversity Program,
1801 N. Lincoln, Okla. City, Okla. 73105.
For the Animals,
Jana, OKC
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 12:09:08 EST
From: JanaWilson
To: Ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) Oklahoma Imported Antelope Project
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A/w local Oklahoma City hunting news:
The imported antelope turned loose a year ago in Roger Mills
County are getting along just fine. They're doing so good,
in fact, another herd of pronghorns is being established in
Texas County in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
Mr. Richard Hatcher, the Oklahoma Wildlife Dept. game chief,
says the original herd of 35 animals obtained from Wyoming
in a trade for wild turkeys has remained in the appropriately named
Antelope Hills along the South Canadian River in far Western Okla.
Hatcher said, "One individual strayed and wandered all the way
to Sayre. They called him the town antelope. He was last seen
heading south."
At least 28 members of the original herd survived the first year and
eight of the females had fawns last spring. Two of the younger ones
are alive, but the others were apparantly killed by hungry coyotes.
The seven older animals that died were victims of shipping fever
resulting from the stress of being captured and moved a/w Hatcher.
The animals are being trapped on an Air Force base where they
have become adjusted to the presence of humans. Hatcher said
they continued to show little fear of man after moving to their
new home, but no poaching has occurred. "They're a lot more
tame than we would like," he added.
One shipment of 16 animals has been made to Texas County this
fall. Two animals arrived dead and 14 were released in the Guyman
area where 4 or 5 ranchers have expressed an interest in having
pronghorns on their land. The Texas County antelope became the
third herd in Okla.
The long-range goal of the antelope transplant program is to provide
additional hunting opportunities. The Oklahoma Wildlife Dept.
issues 150 antelope permits for Cimarron County each year.
Hunters are selected by computer for two four-day hunts.
This year 70 animals were taken.
For the Animals,
Jana, OKC
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 14:43:12 -0800
From: Dena Jones
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (US) California Considering Import Ban on Turtles, Frogs for Markets
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****** ANIMAL PROTECTION INSTITUE (API) ACTION ALERT ******
Support Ban on Import of Turtles and Frogs for Live Animal Markets
The California Fish and Game Commission is considering a regulation
change that would prohibit the importation of turtles and frogs for sale
at animal markets in the state. For decades, turtles and other animals
have been sold alive in retail food markets in the Asian communities of
large California cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco,
Oakland, and Sacramento. Animals are kept alive prior to sale in these
markets as a means of assuring freshness at the time of sale.
Animal advocacy groups are urging a ban on the import of turtles and
frogs for the markets because 1) the animals are very inhumanely handled,
housed, and slaughtered; 2) the animals are often diseased and, if
released into the wild, may threaten native species; and 3) if released
into the wild, the turtles and frogs compete with native wildlife and
usually cannot survive.
The Fish and Game Commission will vote on the import ban at its next
meeting on February 6, 1998 in Sacramento. Animal advocates in California
should take a moment to write a brief note to the Commission requesting
that it approve the proposed ban.
Here are some points you may wish to include in your letter:
* Many of the turtles and frogs imported for food or for the pet
trade eventually are released alive into public water. These animals are
released regularly for religious purposes and by people who acquire the
animals as pets and tire of them or don't know how to care for them.
* The animals are often ill with parasites, salmonella and other
diseases, posing a risk to the public and to native wildlife should the
turtles and frogs be released into the wild.
* While current California Fish and Game regulations prohibit the
sale of native wildlife at markets, it is feared that some of the animals
being sold have been poached from the wild in other states.
Send your letter to:
California Fish and Game Commission
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 1997 20:05:50 -0800
From: Hillary
To: "ar-news@envirolink.org"
Subject: Fur Article in the Post
Message-ID: <3.0.32.19971221200543.0072e980@pop01.ny.us.ibm.net>
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This was in the NY Post a couple of days ago, on Page SIX, which is the
Gossip page of the post.
Read it and weep, for the animals who Anna Wintour continues to persecute.
Hillary
>PAGE SIX
>
>
>
>By RICHARD JOHNSON with Jeane MacIntosh and Sean Gannon
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Vogue fights PETA bef with beef
>
>
>
>FOR Christmas, Anna Wintour decided to give something back to the PETA
protestors who've been hounding her.
>
>The animal rights activists at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
have recently stepped up their campaign against the Vogue editrix, who
frequently enthuses about her enjoyment of both fur and red meat.
>
>In the past, the zealots have dumped a dead raccoon on her plate at the
Four Seasons restaurant, and Anna lookalikes have paraded around in bloody
fur coats.
>
>Earlier this month, the situation became critical when a group calling
itself the Paint Panthers spray-painted a trail of bloody paw prints on the
steps of Wintour's West Village townhouse and painted the words "fur hag"
near the doorstep.
>
>So when PETA protestors lay down in front of Conde Nast's Madison Avenue
offices Wednesday afternoon - and then showed up later that night outside
Balthazar for Vogue's Christmas party - feisty Wintour responded with a
message of her own.
>
>As the champagne flowed inside, she and Vogue publisher Ron Galotti
decided to send a heaping platter of rare roast beef out to the protestors
shivering on the sidewalk out front.
>
>Though the party's security men - fearing the demonstrators would go
ballistic - balked at actually delivering the meat, Wintour's message was
loud and clear.
>
>"I think it was really offensive for them to be at our Christmas party,"
Galotti told PAGE SIX's Jared Paul Stern.
>
>"They're getting out of hand. Somebody should put a stop to it," he said,
adding, "I hope they were hungry. I think it was an appropriate gesture on
our part. We're protected by the First Amendment. Under no circumstances
should pressure like this be allowed on any media."
>
>The Vogue protestors were fairly tame, lining up neatly behind a police
barrier and flashing a snappy new electric monitor that displays anti-fur
epithets. Their shouts and jeers did little to dampen the revelers' spirits
- one brave Vogue staffer even manned the door wearing a fur-trimmed jacket.
>
>But while PETA remains mostly harmless, the recent attack on Wintour's
house have raised concerns about more militant animal-rights groups who
could do serious harm.
>
>"We regard this as a serious situation, so we're not going to comment on
security," Galotti said. As one company source put it ominously, "Conde
Nast is looking into it."
>
>And Wintour told us, "I have nothing else to say. I've said everything I'm
going to say about fur."
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 1997 00:34:02 -0400
From: Ty Savoy
To: ar-news@envirolink.org
Subject: (Ca)Mowat compares seal hunt with Holocaust
Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19971222043402.00961e5c@north.nsis.com>
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Mowat compares seal hunt with
Holocaust
ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - Animal-rights
activists have always called the Newfoundland
seal hunt one of the grisliest displays of cruelty to
animals.
But comparing it with the Holocaust - the death
of more than six million Jews, homosexuals and
Gypsies in Nazi death camps during the Second
World War - might seem over the top.
"I don't think the word `holocaust' is too strong,"
Canadian author and wildlife advocate Farley
Mowat said recently from his Port Hope, Ont.,
residence.
"I do not make a distinction between the massive
destruction of any kind of animal, whether it is
human or non-human."
That said, he still doesn't think Newfoundlanders
are cruel for bludgeoning hundreds of thousands
of seals to death every year.
"I don't blame Newfoundlanders and I never
have," Mowat explained. "I blame government
manipulation."
And contrary to other reports, Mowat says he is
not entirely against the hunt, but says it should be
scaled back in size.
"I never advocated the total cessation of the
hunt," he said.
"What I am talking about is mass destruction,
and I call it (a) holocaust."
Mowat, who once lived in Burgeo, Nfld., and
gained fame trying to save a whale named Moby
Joe, said politicians and fishing industry
spokesmen have made seals scapegoats to deflect
the blame for the depletion of groundfish stocks.
What upsets him the most is a discrepancy he
says exists in government reports on the number
of seals killed annually.
Officials say about 260,000 seals were harvested
this year, but Mowat says the actual number is
more than one million, because the seals were
shot with rifles and only about one of four seals
killed by gunfire are recovered.
Mowat buoys his accusations with claims that he
has ventured to the "front" several times, heading
to the east and northeast coasts of
Newfoundland.
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