Friday, March 31, 2006

Clubbing Baby Seals

Looks like we've had issues with the Canadian baby seal harvest again. Queue up the usual suspects, courtesy of Slate:
Animal welfare activists clashed with seal-pup hunters in Canada this week, just a few days into the annual sealing season. A commercial vessel rammed an inflatable boat filled with protesters over the weekend, and hunters threw seal guts. Animal rights groups oppose the clubbing and shooting of young seals.
The Slate piece goes on to explain, whether you approve or not, that if you're hunting for fur pelts, clubbing the little guys doesn't wreck the fur and is also more humane, as you'd have to take several shots from a bobbing boat to deliver a lethal bullet and the animals would suffer more.

Aside from the relative morality of harvesting animal fur (we don't have a problem with it), one issue we've always wondered about with regard to the baby seal flap is this: It's lefty bleeding-hearts who abhor whacking baby seals upside the head as evil, heartless, and cruel, right? We wonder if these folks have the same issue with picking up a forceps and crunching the head of a helpless third trimester human infant that's proving inconvenient to the mom who conceived him or her. Any thoughts, liberal friends?

(BTW, don't give me that guff about these being two entirely different issues. If one of these activities is heartless and undeserved cruelty, so is the other.)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hint on lefty quandary: People who grow up in a coddling, lefty environment can't often mistake baby seals for infants and vice versa. I realize this isn't a very good hint, but felt I should at least try to help. I could go on but you'd probably have me arrested for dawdling on your blog.

Not sure

Wonker said...

Dear Anonymous,

The NSA is already tapping your phone. Be very afraid.

W

Anonymous said...

Is that why a dead baby seal was left on my doorstep?

NS

Anonymous said...

Could be. The horse head may be next. Oops. Wrong top secret enterprise.

W