I’m tired of constantly hearing about the seal culling that goes on in Canada, and how the animal rights activists are calling it a senseless slaughter. The number of seals culled is regulated, which is obvious given the amount of news coverage this issue has generated on the subject, and while I don’t have any need for seal products, there apparently is a business for this harvest.

How is this any different than cows being bred for the sole purpose of being later turned into the steak and burgers that I love to devour? I’m sure that there could be more humane methods to kill the seals, just as I’m sure there are more humane methods in killing the cows and other animals we eat. For example, that video of Sarah Palin at a turkey farm last year prior to the American Thanksgiving… that turkey was twitching for a while after it’s neck had been snapped… are we sure that it was fully dead as soon as the gruesome event took place? Maybe there was some extra seconds of it suffering, which wouldn’t be thought of for a second as you popped that sucker into the oven complete with breaded stuffing. Personally, I think it’s because the seals look oh-so-cute that people have a major issue with it. The culling process is just the icing on the cake.

The latest ballyhoo on this issue was the recent vote by the E.U. to ban the import of seal products from Canada, calling the seal hunt “inherently inhumane”. They may have a point, but it’s not like all members of the E.U. have clean hands, as noted in this editorial cartoon by Bruce MacKinnon (artizans.com) I happened across this morning:

Naturally, two wrongs don’t make a right, but before you start accusing a country of “inherently inhumane” animal practices, it might be best to ensure that you don’t have some of your own within your “union”.

In contrast, I’d say that bullfighting is much more barbaric, as the bull’s pain and suffering is part of the main event. Who would pay money to watch someone club a seal to death? There are certainly people who pay money to watch a bull be stabbed multiple times, mocked as it tries to kill those giving it pain, and in the end, be brutally murdered.

But let’s not think about that.