[Canadian] Senator fires back at U.S. family upset with seal hunt

[tuvor]

(Also posted in the Canada forum)

A Liberal senator has replied to a family in Minnesota upset about Canada's seal hunt with a letter denouncing the United States for executing prisoners at home and killing people in Iraq.

The McLellan family had written to Canadian senators to say they cancelled a vacation in Canada because of the hunt, which they called "horrible" and "inhumane," Montreal's La Presse reports.

In her response, Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette said that what she finds horrible is "the daily massacre of innocent people in Iraq, the execution of prisoners – mainly blacks – in American prisons, the massive sale of handguns to Americans, the destabilization of the entire world by the American government's aggressive foreign policy, etc."

She said Americans are not in a position to criticize others. "They must start to look at their own behaviour, the permanent heightening of the planet's insecurity since the election of Bush," she told La Presse.

(snip)

In their letter, the McLellans said they love Canada and have Canadian ancestors but cancelled a trip to Canada last year because of the seal hunt and will scrap plans for one this year if the spring hunt goes ahead, La Presse said.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/17/senator-seal060317.html

I suppose the senator has a point, unless the McLellan family is as demonstrative aginst bush's war and their own country's death penalty. Too bad the article doesn't answer that question.

[entanglement]

1. One wrong + another big set of wrongs doesn't make right

n/t

[Akoto]

5. I agree.

One shouldn't even need to explain why America's behavior is wrong, but that doesn't serve to make the seal hunts any more appropriate. I don't personally approve of any animal being hunted for sport. That doesn't mean I devalue human life.

[oblivious]

6. Canada doesn't allow seal hunting for sport. Norway does though.

It's the new sport for tourists: killing baby seals

It is the ultimate form of extreme holiday 'fun'. Tourists, bored with SAS survival weekends, trekking trips in the Antarctic and booking space flights with Richard Branson, will soon be able to fly to Norway - and shoot baby seals.

The decision to launch the vacations - which have aroused the fury of animal rights groups - follows the recent move by the Norwegian government to expand its annual culling of seals so that amateur enthusiasts can join in.

The aim is to bring about a dramatic increase in the number of deaths of seals, which are blamed by fishermen for devastating drops in the North Sea marine stocks. But the effect has been to outrage conservation groups.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1318571,00.html

[daleo]

16. Cheney hunts tame quail for sport

When he's not shooting lawyers in the face. The lawyers are tame too - they apoligize after being shot.

[allalone]

21. there is one ?? about cheney face shot

in Texas, are quail over 5 feet tall and wear blaze orange?

[Gman]

2. That's exactly the way the world feels about Americans

I have a friend that has children with both American and Mexican passports. They have quit traveling on the American passport because they're tired of being hassled. My friend said it's unbelievable. He never thought that would happen. He said people around the world hate Americans now.

[NanceGreggs]

3. While I deplore the very idea of the seal hunts ...

... it is blatantly obvious that Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette has a point.

While two wrongs don't make a right, it's a sad day when Americans are not in a position to throw the first stone - now that we're living (thanks to BushCo) in a very fragile glass house.

[Harper_is_Bush]

4. Yeah! Ca-Na-DA! Ca-Na-DA!

Makes a fella proud!

[mimitabby]

7. welll, good for her

i really get tired of how americans continue to live in their dream world and dare to attack Canada
for seal hunting while pretending that "good" iraqis don't exist, die, etc.

[LeftyMom]

8. Well, I'm not a Bush voter or pro-war

so I can still say this with a clear concience:

The seal slaughter is fucking evil and so is any asshole that supports it, no matter which side of the border they call home.

[AlamoDemoc]

9. My question is: Why Seal hunting is any different than any

other animal hunting that take place in America?

[LynnTheDem]

12. Like the canned hunts?

That, imo, is pure evil.

[tuvor]

13. Like Cheney's canned hunt, perhaps?

Did you SEE the demo on The Daily Show this week?

Holy CRAP.

[AlamoDemoc]

14. my point exactly

Here we have the VP of the United States participating canned hunting and in the process shooting a man...and here we have this family somewhere in Minnesota so concerned about regulated seal hunting in the northern territories of Canada. AMAZING!

[Big Blue Marble]

15. It is different

because it is not legal in any state to bash the heads of baby animals and skin them alive
right after birth and in front of their mothers. In any state of the Union, you would be arrested for animal cruelty if you did this.

[allalone]

20. thank you

here in our state, 2 guys got jail for tying a dog to a tree and shooting him wtih arrows. Oh I agree with that, but why is it "hunting" when dickless cheney does it?

[progressivebydesign]

10. Umm... WE'RE not the ones killing people in Iraq or executing.

That would be our government. She is free to criticize the govt all she wants... but private citizens? Bullshit.

[CHIMO]

11. I Suppose

That could be said of a lot of things. However, since the clarion call is that of democracy one would expect that the actions of the government reflect the objectives of the people.

Reading the article it did not seem to me that it was an attack against a person but rather a reply to a political position. The letter writer had written to all the senators and this person took it upon herself to reply.

For anyone that is interested, there should be a lot of sparks flying shortly as the new Canadian PM wants to be more Bush than Bush. So keep an eye open for some good policy defining statements.

"All senators received the letter from the McLellans and I was the only one to respond," she said.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2006/03/17/senator-seal060317.html

I guess that all I would add is "If it is too hot in the kitchen then get out".

[HuffleClaw]

17. hahhahhhahaaaaaaaa

oh man thats funny. the 'save the CUTE animals' crusade given a wakeup call by a senator.

[monk24]

18. Senator is changing the subject

Instead of speaking directly to the issue of Canada's seal slaughter, Hervieux-Payette is following the ploy used by politicians everywhere - changing the subject. And why not? How do you defend the indefensible?

Is America guilty of murder? Every day. And there many Americans working tirelessly to end such practices, in the many forms it takes. As for the "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" argument, that can be applied to any country in the world. Should the United States tell Canada to butt out of criticizing America's policies because of their butchery of baby seals? And, of course, there are no Canadian troops in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East contributing to "the destabilization of the entire world," correct Senator Hervieux-Payette?

[allalone]

19. how do they dare even call it a hunt

clubbing to death baby animals who have NO FUCKING LEGS. They can't even run. all they can do is scream and suffer. Who buys these pelts? They skin them while alive so as not to waste any time. I can't figure out how anybody could do this and still sleep at night or face their children.
We in America do have a lot to answer for with this current and even past administrations, but that doesn't justify this horrible atrocity.
Those of us who feel so strongly about it, well maybe it's a classic case of displacement. There are so many bad things happening around the world, to children here that I feel you can't live in this world while sane. If we all had all this in our conscious mind all the time it would be unbearable.

[President Kerry]

22. a total displaced non-sequitur n/t

[Critters2]

23. Yep

The good senator would fail a basic course in logic in EITHER country.

Yes, it is wrong to kill innocents in Iraq.

AND it is STILL wrong to bash in the heads of defenseless animals.

And, it is perfectly reasonable to call for a halt to either or both of these atrocities.

I guess Canada's educational system is no better than the US. How sad for them.