Posted on 04/04/2005 3:16:33 PM PDT by Jean S
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Humane Society of the United States is asking American restaurants and consumers to boycott Canadian seafood to pressure that government to stop the annual seal hunt.
The announcement of the boycott Monday coincided with the start of country-of-origin labeling for seafood products sold in the United States, which will let shoppers know where their seafood comes from.
Legal Sea Foods, a 31-restaurant chain, and Down East Seafoods, a distributor to about 200 hotels and restaurants, have joined the boycott. The Humane Society has urged more than 5,000 U.S. seafood distributors to follow suit.
"Americans have repeatedly used their purchasing power to bring about significant improvements in animal welfare," said Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle.
The hunt, which animal rights activists say is needlessly cruel, has been the target of protests since the 1960s. When this year's hunt began last week, thousands of sealers armed with clubs, rifles and spears clashed with protesters arriving by helicopter.
Canada says the decades-long practice brings badly needed income to impoverished fishing communities, primarily from pelt sales to Norway, Denmark and China. The United States bans imports of seal products.
"It's a livelihood for many of the aboriginals in Newfoundland and Labrador," said Terry Colli, a Canadian embassy spokesman. "They don't have much in the way of an alternative economic endeavor."
Canada accounted for the largest share of U.S. seafood imports in 2003, about $3.1 billion, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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On the Net:
Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org
AP-ES-04-04-05 1721EDT
This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBV5QU657E.html
Hmm... Perhaps if they starved the seals to death, these animal activists might stand aside and let the seals die with dignity.
I don't understand. Am I supposed to go into Red Lobster and order only the shrimps who can't play hockey?
It's a radical spinoff group that's been playing off the confusion in names for decades.
They raise millions, and spend millions, but they do squat to actually help animals.
http://www.responsiblewildlifemanagement.org/inside_hsus1.htm
Thanks jdege, I didn't know that but I assume the AP does. This is dishonest reporting.
yeah go ahead and boycott the seal flipper pie, eh?
exactly would the anti seal hunt crowd prefer we put the baby harp seals on feeding tubes and let them die over 10 days
seals have soft skulls, it helps them squeeze through the ice, apparently you can kill them quickly with one fist punch to the head....
the killing of cows etc ain't pretty either, but then the liberal set wouldn't have their trendy leather jackets and boots to wear out on the town
I could think of several: Oil Tanker discharge point.
Refineries
Oil Spill cleanup
Nuclear power plants
The Humane Society of the United States is PETA.
More leftist whining.
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