Seal Slaughter Shames Canada!

On Friday, I called the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco--415-834-3180--to inquire about why they keep allowing the brutal seal hunt. To my delight, the receptionist was obviously Quebecois, who told me "ne quittez pas" after I asked in French about the "phoques". She transferred me to Max, an assistant to Tristan Landry, the head spokesperson for the consulate. Tristan was "not available." So I grilled Max (gently.) It was dual French-English conversation, which was more fun for me than him, I'm sure.

I asked him about the expense to the Canadian healthcare system for the psychological distress to the communities involved in the brutal hunt. I fired off a bunch of questions, paraphrased here: "I mean, would YOU want to be raised in a family where the father routinely clubs innocent little animals to death? Could YOU do it? I couldn't. It'd be like hitting a puppy. Can
you imagine how desensitized to violence these guys must be? Would you want to be their kid, or their spouse? What's it cost Canada to heal all the people brutalized by these hunters? Do you even keep track of that? And so on."

His job is to be pleasant and screen for the real flack, so he ummmed and ahhhed and kept directing me to this website.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/index_e.htm

Anyway, it was an interesting exercise in French conversation if nothing else. I encourage all of you to practice your French at your local Canadian consulate!

More on Seal Hunt Savagery:
International Fund for Animal Welfare
Humane Society United States
Harpseals.org