Tag Archives: Canada

HSUS Activists Reportedly Not Happy at Being Caught on Film

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Pro-seal hunt filmmaker Raoul Jomphe claims that representatives with the Humane Society of the United States were displeased that the caught them on film ignoring the suffering of a seal that the animal rights activists were using as a prop for a fund raising video.

According to the Ottawa Citizen,

In the documentary . . . the animal rights activists pulled the dying seal out of the water as it tried to escape, and continued filming their promotional video. It is not known how the seal was wounded.

According to Jomphe and his documentary, the HSUS activists filmed for over an hour while the seal lay suffering.

Interviewed in Jomphe’s film, HSUS activist Rebecca Aldworth says she only had the seal’s well-being in mind,

I asked somebody to pull the seal out, because at that point I was thinking there might be a chance of getting the seal back to land. If this seal could still crawl, an hour later, could still swim, maybe there was a chance we could bring the seal back to the Atlantic Veterinary College and save the seal.

Jomphe said that based on the condition of the seal, he would have humanely killed it rather than allow it to continue to suffer.

Source:

Activists Angry at being caught on tape. The Ottawa Citizen, March 5, 2007.

Optimizing Polar Bear Hunting and Fees in Nunavut

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The Canadian territory of Nunavut occupies almost 1/5th of that country but is home to only about 30,000 people — and quite a few polar bears. The territory is occupied largely by Inuit who have long hunted polar bear, and is also home to a multi-million dollar industry in selling polar bear hunting permits to foreigners.

But how the annual polar bear quota is managed and how to best optimize the money earned from the hunt are topics that came to the fore this summer.

In July, the Polar Bear Specialist Group warned that as the Arctic appears to be shrinking from the increase in global temperatures, polar bear habitat is likely to decline as well which could put population pressures on the polar bear. It warned that by 2055, the polar bear population worldwide could decline by up to 30 percent.

Scott Schliebe, a researcher with the Polar Bear Specialist Group, told the CBC News,

We’re seeing some fairly significant reductions in the actual area that pack ice occupies in the Arctic, and we’re seeing some thinning in the thickness of the ice.

Schliebe and his fellow researchers issued their warning after Nunavut announced it was going to increase polar bear quotas for 2005. Again, Schliebe told the CBC News that his group believes Nunavut has overestimated the number of polar bears, adding that,

We would like those levels to be adjusted to the current population abundance estimate, 950 animals, and we would like the adjustment to be calculated as sustainable over time,

Nunavut announced in January that it was increasing the 2005 quote by 28 percent, saying that the population of polar bears is on the increase. But if the CBC is to be believed, its method of determining the polar bear population leaves a lot to be desired,

Nunavut’s environment minister, Olayuk Akesuk, says government officials decided to increase the quota after consulting with Inuit elders and hunters about how much the bear population has increased.

He said the government is open to making more decisions like this on the basis of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, or traditional knowledge.

“We will respect more the say of the community and we want to see more of Inuit knowledge and western science included into one,” he said.

Especially given the potential profit from polar bears, such increases should be based on sound scientific estimates of the number of polar bears, not hunters opinion about the status of the bear population.

When it comes to profiting off of the bear hunt, however, an economic study of the bear hunt suggests that Nunavut is not maximizing the money it could make off the hunt. In a study funded by Nunavat and the Safari Club, Dr. George Wenzel of McGill University found that of the $2.9 million hunters spend on the polar bear hunt, only half of that ends up in the pockets of the Inuit.

One of Wenzel’s major findings was that the Inuit may be underpricing polar bear tags. Currently it only charges $30,000 to $35,000, depending on the specific locale, to hunt a polar bear. Wenzel noted that in contrast U.S. hunters pay up to $400,0000 to hunt bighorn sheep in Alberta. As Wenzel told Nunatsiaq News,

If you can sell a sheep for that much, I’m sure you could sell a polar bear for more money than is coming in.

Currently, only about 50 polar bear hunt tags are sold to outside hunters. The rest are used by traditional Inuit hunters. Wenzel estimated that if Nunavut sold all its polar bear tags to outsiders, it could increase its income from the hunt to $14 million annually even if it stuck with the current $30,000 to $35,000 price.

Sources:

Nunavut hunters can kill more polar bears this year. CBC News, January 10, 2005.


Rethink polar bear hunt quotas, scientists tell Nunavut hunters. CBC News, July 4, 2005.

Boost price for polar bear hunt, researcher says. John Thompson, Nunatsiaq News, August 26, 2005.

Matt Prescott and Lara Sanders Pull Off Marriage Proposal Stunt

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Animal rights activists Matt Prescott and Lara Sanders pulled off a marriage proposal stunt at an August 5 New York Yankees-Toronto Blue Jays game at Rogers Center in Toronto.

Prescott, who works for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, paid $250 to reserve a marriage proposal to be broadcast on the stadium’s Jumbotron. When the Jumbotron camera focused on the pair, Prescott held up a sign saying,

John Bitove and KFC Cripple Chickens

Bitove is the owner of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors and KFC Canada.

Well, this is certainly an improvement on Prescott’s last big idea. He’s the idiot at PETA who came up with the “Holocaust On Your Plate” campaign.

Source:

Man proves he’s not chicken. Craig Smith, Tribune-Review (Pittsburgh), August 9, 2005.

Lovebirds Engage KFC During Yankees-Blue Jays Game. Press Release, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, August 2005.

Activists Target Red Lobster Over Canadian Seal Hunt

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Animal rights activists upset over the return of seal hunting in Canada are targeting Red Lobster for protests.

Red Lobster’s crime is that it buys a lot of seafood from Canada, and the activists want Red Lobster to observe their boycott of Canadian seafood until that country agrees to stop the seal hunt.

A letter posted by Harpseals.Org volunteer Sue Hirsch to AR-NEWS in July read,

As you may know, HSUS had a protest at almost all the Red Lobster
restaurants across the US and Canada last month on June 25th, 2005.
This Saturday (and for every month now on) Harpseals.org along with
Seashepherd.org will be having the same kind of protests at as many Red
Lobsters as we can until the massacres stop.

Please go to www.harpseals.org <http://www.harpseals.org> for more
information and updates.

OUR GROUP WILL BE AT THE RED LOBSTER RESTAURANT OFF ROSE AVENUE IN
OXNARD AND WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS TO HELP US! WE JUST STAND WITH SIGNS
(NON-VIOLENT) FROM HSUS,etc., AND TELL PEOPLE (who want to listen) THAT
RED LOBSTER IS THE LARGEST PURCHASER OF CANADIAN SEAFOOD AND IF THEY
WOULD STOP PURCHASING THE SEAFOOD, WE COULD END THESE BARBARIC SLAUGHTERS).

Please come out to support us.

I haven’t eaten at Red Lobster in a long time, but the activist’s protest — not to mention Red Lobster’s Create Your Own Summer Seafood Feast special — might be just enough to send me there this weekend.

Source:

Canadian Baby Harp Seal Protest Oxnard July 30th, 2005. Sue Hirsch, Harpseals.Org.

Eli Lilly Plans Withdrawal of Insulin in Canada; Diabetics Not Happy

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Animal-based insulin is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the West, and Eli Lilly recently announced plans to stop selling animal-insulin in Canada. That decision has brought on the anger of a number of diabetes charities who accuse the drug company of putting people ahead of profits in withdrawing the animal-insulin.

Until the early 1980s, all insulin was either beef or pork-based. But in the early 1980s, synthetic insulin began to get approval in Western countries and has gradually displaced animal-based insulin. Synthetic insulin has a number of advantages, including that it is cheaper to produce, has fewer impurities, and its is more-or-less identical to human insulin.

But some users of animal-based insulin claim that the synthetic insulin causes any number of side effects, and that it gives them better awareness of impending low blood sugar.

Comparative studies between the two, however, have tended to show that synthetic insulin is just as safe and effect as animal-based insulin, and avoids the potential of an immune response that is a risk with animal-based insulin.

Source:

Diabetics fear loss of animal insulin. Don Harrison, The Province, July 22, 2005.

Someone Leaves Dead Rabbit Outside University Vegetarian Cafeteria

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In March, someone left the remains of a dead rabbit hanging outside a vegetarian-oriented cafeteria on the campus of the University of Victoria. Anti-vegetarian slogans were also scrawled on a window.

According to Victoria News, a security camera recording showed three men arriving at the cafeteria, removing a rabbit from a bag and then hanging it from a string.

University of Victoria spokeswoman Patti Pitts told Victoria News,

It’s sad and senseless. The university doesn’t condone any kind of animal cruelty.

If the perpetrators are every caught, they should face criminal trespass and vandalism charges and be expelled from the university assuming they are students.

Source:

Rabbit killed at UVic. Brennan Clarke, Victoria News, March 30, 2005.

Paul Watson Compares Seal Hunt to Holocaust

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As Canada announced in March that it would proceed with a seal hunt this spring in which up to 320,000 seals would be killed, animal rights and environmental extremist Paul Watson compared the seal hunt to the Holocaust.

According to Toronto Star columnist Kelly Toughill, Watson was responding a Newfoundland Memorial University student on whether or not Watson and seal hunters could reach a compromise. Watson’s reply was that,

I would not have compromised with the Nazi over the fate of the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto and I do not believe in compromising with the thugs who kill these seals.

In a response on his web site, Watson countered,

I think this is a good analogy. It is not a question of comparing Jews to seals. It is all about compromising with evil. I, in fact, honour the defenders of the Warsaw Ghetto. They were brave men and women who stood up to tyranny with courage against hopeless odds. In that movement against the NaziÂ’s, those who compromised led their people to defeat and death. The statement was about not giving in to compromise and was not a criticism of the Jewish struggle. If I offended the sealers with the analogy, then that was my point. If I offended anyone of the Jewish faith, then I apologize for the unintended slight.

Yet more evidence that Godwin’s Law extends will past the confines of the Internet.

Sources:

The big lie about the harp seal hunt. Kelly Toughill, The Toronto Star, March 26, 2005.

Response to Kelly Toughill of the Toronto Star. Paul Watson, March 28, 2005.

When I Was A Kid, We Didn't Even Think Babies Felt Anything!

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Sometimes I amazed there are any vegetarians given just how ludicrous some of the arguments advanced in favor of vegetarianism are.

Consider, for example, one Trevor Murdock who is affiliated with the Vancouver Island Vegetarian Association. Murdock is a peacenik — fair enough — and is convinced that anyone else who agrees with his political views about war would be naturally led to his views of vegetarianism. Except his argument boils down to: a) its simply obvious that animals haves souls, and b) until recently scientists thought human infants were unfeeling machines!

I’m not making this up. Murdock writes,

Anyone who has had a companion animal or stared into the eyes of a horse or cow in a petting zoo knows — deep down — that animals have souls just like humans do. Science is just now proving that animals feel pain, have personalities and emotions. These are things we all know but don’t like to admit ourselves. One generation ago science thought that animals were machines with no feelings — and in fact thought the same of human babies! With those beliefs, it’s understandable how “machines” would end up on our plates. But now that we know animals are every bit as much beings of this planet as we are, the first step to helping treat other cultures and nations with the same respect as their own is to start treating animals with the respect they deserve as living beings. This does not include “harvesting” animals in conditions of low-light, crowding, too little exercise, transporting them with methods in which a large percentage die, then slaughtering them in painful ways while they are conscious, and grinding up the bits that we don’t like for use in candy, make-up, and dog and cat food.

Though, apparently, giving animals deep soulful looks in a petting zoo is still okay.

The claim that the scientific community just a generation ago thought human infants were machines with no feelings is simply absurd. The idea that animals are just machines is an 18th century idea popularized by Descartes that was in steep decline by the end of the 19th century.

Murdock could be referring to the popularity of behaviorism in the 20th century, but behaviorism postulated that humans and animals are both feeling machines (and its a bit of a stretch to ascribe to all of science the views of behaviorists).

You’ll have to forgive me for not dwelling more on Murdock’s contentions about living machines — I’m off for a staring contest with my cat to resolve once and for all if it has a soul.

Source:

Vegetarianism and Peace. Trevor Murdock, January 24, 2005.

Canadian Researchers Isolate Stem Cells in Brain Tumors

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Canadian scientists recently published the results of their research identifying stem cells in brain tumors that keep the tumor growing. The research was published in the Nov. 18 issue of Nature.

It was already known that breast cancer and leukemia use stem cells to quickly grow and regenerate when they are threatened with destruction, but the finding that brain tumors also utilize stem cells suggests that this is a common mechanism used by cancerous tumors.

Researchers first isolated stem cells from other cells in cancerous human tumors. They did this by extracting cells in the tumors that were producing a protein commonly found on the surface of other stem cells. They then injected 100 of these cells into mice.

Sixteen of the 19 mice injected with these cells developed cancerous brain tumors. This is the first time that researchers have demonstrated that such cells can indeed cause cancer itself.

According to Nature,

Moreover, the cancer stem cells grew into tumors that behaved similarly to those in the patients from which they came, resembling glioblastomas and medulloblastomas, for example. This suggests that mice tumors will be a good way to study the human disease.

Sources:

Stem Cells Feed Brain Tumors. Kristen Philipkoski, Wired, November 17, 2004.

Stem cells home in on brain cancer. Jim Giles, Nature, October 25, 2004.

Matt Prescott Keeps On Lying about Holocaust On Your Plate

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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is still touring the world with its “Holocaust On Your Plate” display. In September, the display started making its way through Canada.

In Montreal, Matt Prescott set up the show across the street from a Burger King, but he apparently was taken aback by complaints that the campaign says that meat eaters are the moral equivalent of Nazis. So he did what most PETA representatives do when confronted with embarrassing arguments — lie. Prescott told The Montreal Gazette,

[PETA is] not saying meat-eaters are the equivalent of Nazis. We’re saying anybody who eats meat is guilty of holding the same mindset that allowed the Holocaust to happen. We can take a stand against that ever time we sit down to eat by adopting a vegetarian diet.

PETA is not saying meat-eaters are Nazis? Ah, that explains why PETA features a web-ad on its site with pictures of concentration camp victims on one end and pictures of slaughtered pigs on the other, and in between text saying, “In relation to [animals] all people are Nazis.” Because, of course, PETA is not saying that meat-eaters are equivalent to Nazis.

Source:

Philllips Square exhibit a shocker. Andy Riga, The Montreal Gazette, September 9, 2004.