U.S: résolution du sénat pour mettre fin à la chasse au phoq

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U.S. Senate Resolution Calls for End to Inhumane Canadian Seal Hunt

March 22, 2007


WASHINGTON - With hunters heading to the Canadian ice floes as soon as next week to kill hundreds of thousands of baby seals, Senators Carl Levin (D - MI) and Susan Collins (R – ME) have introduced a resolution calling for the end to the carnage. The Humane Society of the United States applauds Sens. Levin and Collins for taking this action. The hunt, sanctioned by the Canadian government, is the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals on the planet.

"The clubbing of baby seals cannot be defended or justified," said Sen. Levin. "Canada should end it, just as we ended the commercial Alaska seal hunt more than 20 years ago."

The resolution notes that more than one million seals have been killed over the past three years. In the last five years, 95 percent of the seals killed were pups between 12 days and 12 weeks of age, many of them too young to have eaten their first solid meal or taken their first swim.

"This hunt is cruel and the Canadian government's own regulations regarding humane killing are not respected or enforced," said John W. Grandy, senior vice president of wildlife and habitat protection for The Humane Society of the United States. "It is heartening that the U.S. Senate is speaking to the annual bloodletting."

The resolution will be referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations, chaired by Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) and ranking minority member Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN). Sen. Biden is an original co-sponsor.

FACTS:

Canada's commercial seal hunt is the world's largest slaughter of marine mammals, with more than one million seals killed in the past three years.
Well over 95 percent of the seals killed each year are under 3 months old.
Hunters kill the seals for their skins, which are sold to the fashion industry in Europe and Asia. The bloody carcasses are left behind on the ice.
The Canadian government estimates tens of thousands of seals are wounded in the course of the hunt each year, but escape beneath the water's surface. They die slowly and their bodies are not recovered.
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 bars the importation of seal products into the United States.
For more information on the seal hunt, visit www.protectseals.org

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Carl Levin Senate Floor Statement on Seal Hunt Resolution

March 21, 2007 -- "Mr. President, Canada’s commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals in the world. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), over one million seals have been killed for their fur in the past three years. In 2006 alone, more than 350,000 seals were slaughtered, most of them between 12 days and 12 weeks old.

Canada officially opened another seal hunt on November 15, 2006, paving the way for hundreds o f thousands of baby seals to be killed for their fur during the spring of 2007. Today, I am joined by Senator Collins and Senator Biden in submitting a resolution that urges the Government of Canada to end this senseless and inhumane slaughter.

A study by an independent team of veterinarians in 2001, found that the seal hunt failed to comply with basic animal welfare standards and that Canadian regulations with regard to humane killing were not being enforced. The study concluded that up to 42 percent of the seals studied were likely skinned while alive and conscious. The United States has long banned the import of seal products because of widespread outrage over the magnitude and cruelty of the hunt.
It makes little sense to continue this inhumane industry that employs only a few hundred people on a seasonal, part-time basis and only operates for a few weeks a year, in which the concentrated killings takes place. In Newfoundland, where over 90 percent of the hunters live, the economic contribution of the seal hunt is marginal. In fact, exports of seal products from Newfoundland account for less than one-tenth of one percent of the province’s total exports.

Canada is fortunate to have vast and diverse wildlife populations, but these animals deserve protection, not senseless slaughter. Americans have a long history of defending marine mammals, best evidenced by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Polls show that close to 80 percent of Americans and the vast majority of Europeans oppose Canada’s seal hunt. In fact, close to 70 percent of Canadians surveyed oppose the hunt completely, with even higher numbers opposing specific aspects of the hunt, such as killing baby seals.

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