Canada has announced this year's seal kill quota: 275,000. The story is in many papers. I will take a brief look, below, at Canada's National Post, The New York Times, and The Australian.

The Tuesday, March 11, page A2 National Post article, a Reuters piece penned by David Ljunggren, opens with the line:
"Hunters will be allowed to kill 275,000 young harp seals on the ice floes off eastern Canada this year, the government said yesterday, a number that animal rights activists said was unsustainable."

(I will note here that the New York Times piece, based on the same information distributed by Reuters, makes a similarly misleading statement about animal rights. While a valid and strong argument, the issue of sustainability is not an animal rights argument. It deals with conservation. One would never argue, from an animal rights perspective, that it is okay to kill an animal if there are plenty others of her species around.)

The article continues:
"The quota is slightly more than last year's 270,000, when ice conditions were poor, but considerably below the 335,000 set in 2006."

It tells us:

"The animals are either shot or clubbed to death in a hunt that takes place in March and April each year. The furs are turned into clothes and there is a growing market for seal oil, which is rich in omega 3 fatty acids. Activists complain the hunt is cruel and say they often catch sealers killing animals in an inhumane way. Ottawa says that from this year hunters will be obliged to take extra steps to ensure the seals die humanely."

There is a strong quote from Sheryl Fink of the International Fund for Animal Welfare:

"It's a national embarrassment ... is killing baby seals really what Canadians want to be known for?"

We learn, "The government's official plan calls for the herd to be kept at 4.1 million animals or above." And we read that activists are optimistic about the possibility of an impending European Union ban on the import of seal products from Canada.

The Tuesday, March 11, New York Times piece, also from Reuters, and providing much the same information but abbreviated -- including Fink's strong quote -- is headed, "Seal Kill Increased" (pg 10)

You'll find it on line at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/world/americas/11briefs-seals.html

The Australian's March 11 article is headed, "Canada sets rules for `humane' slaughter of seals." (p 12)
It focuses on that issue, opening with:
"Canada's Government, heavily criticised for allowing hunters to shoot and club to death hundreds of thousands of seals each year, says it is imposing new rules to ensure the animals are killed more humanely."

It tells us:
"Although hunters are obliged to ensure the seals die quickly, officials acknowledge this does not always happen. From now on, hunters will have to follow a three-step process recommended by an independent panel of veterinarians. After clubbing or shooting the seal, a hunter must check its eyes to ensure it is dead and if not, the animal's main arteries have to be cut."

But we read:

"Animal rights activists said the new rules would make little difference, as there were too few inspectors monitoring the hunt and conditions could be difficult."

HSUS's Rebecca Aldworth is quoted, "You often have very broken-up ice (and) people shooting at seals from distances of 50 or 60 metres. There is a huge time lag between actually striking the animal with the bullet and then getting the boat into place to test for unconsciousness.''

You'll find the full article on line at http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23351015-2703,00.html

The articles in these papers, or in your local paper, present a good opportunity to question the killing of baby seals, or any animals, for their fur.
The National Post takes letters at: http://tinyurl.com/3agn6t
The New York Times takes letters at letters@nytimes.com
The Australian takes letters at letters@theaustralian.com.au

And if your local paper covers the story, and you have any difficulty finding the correct email address for a letter to the editor, don't hesitate to ask me for help.

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any exact comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read advance reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals" and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.