REMAN

That phrase – “fiddling while Rome burns” – has been used ever since to describe a situation in which a person engages in trivial matters during a crisis.

I can’t help but be reminded of Nero when thinking about the Canadian Government’s engaging in silly stunts while an issue as important as the cruel commercial seal hunt looms.

While Rome Burns…

From any angle you look at it, Canada’s commercial sealing industry is dying:

Every recent veterinary report has documented examples of cruelty and cited the need for improvements in humane killing practices.

The majority (72%) of Canadians support regulations banning the hunting of seal pups, and 81% would not be upset if the commercial seal hunt were to end.

On May 5, 2009 the European Union voted to ban the trade of all seal products within the 27-nation bloc. The U.S., Mexico and Croatia have national bans on seal products.

The seal hunt is an economic failure. An analysis published in the journal Marine Policy earlier this year determined that ending Canada’s commercial seal hunt would save Canadians a minimum of $6.9 million per year.

Given the global economic crisis, it simply doesn’t make sense – or “cents” – to continue to subsidise this dying industry.

Fiddling away…

You’d think that the Canadian Government would recognise the magnitude of this issue and confront it with the seriousness it deserves.

So how is the Canadian government addressing this serious issue?

They’re snacking on seal meat.

That’s right – believe it or not, in a bizarre and misguided stunt organised by Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette on March 10th, the exclusive Parliamentary Restaurant in Ottawa served seal meat to her selected guests.

The Toronto Star summarised well this latest stunt in a recent opinion piece:
“It’s time for the senator and the rest of the politicians who dine with her in the Parliamentary Restaurant to surrender, end the senseless slaughter, and compensate and retrain the few sealers who still rely on the hunt for a little extra income.”

End the Hunt Now

The media gets it, just as the majority of Canadians do: they don’t want cheap stunts and gimmicks, and more importantly, they don’t want to continue to prop up a cruel and dying industry.

It’s time the Canadian Government got serious and faced the truth: the world doesn’t want Canada’s dead seals.

Click here to tell the Canadian Government to stop fiddling and ban the hunt now.

Stop the Slaughter!

Fuente: IFAW