Brit Perspective Unwelcome
Which comes first, innocent baby seals or the lives of innocent Iraqi children?

By Rick Zemanek, editor, Red Deer Advocate

Which comes first, innocent baby seals or the lives of innocent Iraqi children?

A British cabinet minister might have a struggle with this one after lamely observing during a parliamentary debate in London that Canada's international reputation has been damaged by East Coast seal hunts.

The British government, in its infinite and ill-informed wisdom, is pushing Canada to ban seal hunting for commercial purposes.

Some food for thought for that government: Mind your own seriously flawed business.

"I know that it (Canada) is a beautiful country whose attitude to most things is very similar to ours," said Britain's Foreign Office Minister Mike O'Brien during the ridiculous debate this week.

"The way in which seal hunting and seal clubbing goes about does Canada's reputation a lot of damage," said O'Brien.

If harvesting seals for the sake of selling the pelts to put a decent meal in front of a family of impoverished Eastern Canadians is ruining this country's reputation, what would it really take to put this country down the sink hole in the eyes of the rest of the world?

Obviously, O'Brien has never stood in a bread line in Newfoundland, or visited a food bank that many Eastern Canadians depend upon so dearly for nourishment, given the current hard times on the East Coast and the demise of the cod fishery.

This stupid debate in which O'Brien provided such ridiculous input arose after 159 members of the British Parliament signed a motion on banning seal hunting. The motion was brought forward by a Conservative MP, who also has obviously not visited a food bank.

"There is no way we have been convinced that the action of killing these baby seals is anything other than cruel," said Tory MP David Amess. "I think that the Canadian government has effectively declared war on seals," Amess continued.

Declared war?

What a silly phrase to use, give Britain's haste in joining the battle in Iraq.

The British government joined forces with the United States to overrun a country, based upon unsubstantiated observations that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.

So far not a stitch of evidence on the possession of weapons of mass destruction has surfaced.

That pathetic war has cost the lives of countless Iraqi civilians.

Growing American fatalities continue to make this a Vietnam-like conflict. But very little attention is paid to the countless number of Iraqi civilians who have died at the hands of suicide bombers, whose anger has been fuelled by two countries promising freedom and peace once the gunfire has subsided.

Amess wants to address the subject of cruelty? In his passionate plea for the well-being of baby seals, surely he's not forgotten that a human life deserves consideration as well?

And as far as O'Brien's statement that Canada is similar to Britain, another look is in order.

Canada chose not to become involved in the Iraqi conflict because we value peace and truth.

Canada can offer humanitarian assistance but not military support for an ill-conceived strike against a country that, for the most part, was based upon lies and unfounded speculation.

But the Brits want to tell us our economic business.

They are particularly upset that our government permits a yearly quota of 275,000 animals, including the clubbing deaths of wide-eyed, cute baby seals, as portrayed over and over again in video clips taken by save-these-animals groups.

Have these people ever stared into the doe-like eyes of a cow, or a pig, or a cowering chicken or turkey, while those animals are put down so they can grace the plates of those who have never entered the doors of a food bank? The food chain is a harsh assembly line.

Some East Coast Canadians rely heavily on the annual seal harvest for income. They are going through extremely tough times with the demise of the cod fishery. These hunts are not carried out for fun.

Certainly seal killings are not pleasant. An economic alternative would be welcome by all concerned.

But it is simplistic, reactionary and meddling to suggest that this nation needs Britain's guidance because we permit seal hunts.
"If two per cent are killed cruelly, that is still thousands of seals," O'Brien observes.

What does he consider an acceptable number of innocent Iraqi children killed in a conflict his government has endorsed?

His government needs to face up to its own significant problems, not deflect public scrutiny by focusing on Canadian policy.

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