[NatureNS] A New Low in Barbarism

Date: Mon, 11 May 2015 09:04:09 -0300
From: Hans <htoom@hfx.eastlink.ca>
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 5.1; rv:31.0) Gecko/20100101
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects


Several years ago I found a harbour seal with gun shot wounds dying on a 
beach in Crystal Crescent Beach Provincial Park. I assumed at the time 
that this was an isolated incident. Not so it seems.

Shotgun blasts have come from the direction of Sambro Island for years 
but I only recently found out what is happening there. Apparently, and 
this uncorroborated, fishermen possibly with permits are killing seals 
and their pups. The really disturbing part is that shotguns will not 
kill grey seals or even harbour seals but will cause them such pain and 
agony that they eventually drown after suffering horribly.

Since this happens with a secret handshake between the Department of 
Fisheries and Oceans(also uncorroborated) and local fisherman it begs 
the question on how many more secret handshakes are occurring and how 
many other seal colonies are being butchered in this manner. The coast 
guard base at Sambro Harbour certainly knows about this activity since 
the gun shots can be heard all around the area.

The answer to this depravity is simple. Buy the island from the Coast 
Guard and close it to all human traffic. Only a small portion of land is 
needed to host the lighthouse itself. Which brings up another act of 
stupidity and barbarism. This time by the Coast Guard. They hover their 
helicopters over the lighthouse regularly for extended periods for what 
purpose I do not know but this could only be disruptive if not 
destructive to the Arctic Tern colony.

I recognize that the folks on this list can do nothing but perhaps, just 
perhaps, this story can be followed up by a journalist if the 
dissemination of this information is wide enough.

To quote a famous Newfoundlander John Crosbie, "I didn't take the fish 
out of the (expletives deleted) water". When John Cabot first came to 
these shores he had to plow through the cod so the fallacious argument 
that the seals ate all the fish does not hold water(sorry). The 
fisherman took the fish out of the water.

Laura and I will make a contribution to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust to 
help them buy this island if hopefully they will take on this project 
and then take this island away from our government(s) and close it to 
humans except under supervision.

Hans

-- 
Hans Toom
http://www.hanstoom.com
http://www.hanstoom.com/blog

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects