My views on hunting of any kind have got me into trouble before so I won't go into details. Lets just say I accept no excuses for killing another creature.

Sophist, I read your arguement with interest and can allow you to keep your own views, however I am not convinced about hackapicks. Sure, perhaps when used correctly they can kill a baby seal instantly, and when you think about it, that's easy to do even with a club. When the back end of the skull is smashed and the spinal cord (along with vital parts of the brain, can't remember the exact scientific name for the life of me) are damaged beyond repair. One dead seal pup.

However, who's to say these hunters hit the bullseye every time? I bet they don't even get one out of ten. It's like shooting yourself in the head, sounds simple enough, but there's actually a specific place to shoot to kill yourself instantaneously. I'm sure the sight of a pulpy, bloodied seal carcass is the evidence of a couple of misses.
Quote Originally Posted by wombat2u2004
Well said Buttercup !!! I completely agree with you.

As for the opinions of experts ......experts in what ????
Ohhhhhhh "" I inspected three dead baby seals and they were killed humanely, therefore in my professional opinion, the other 6 gazillion of them were killed in the same way"
What poppycock !!!!!! Experts are no different than anyone else in this world, they sell whatever they want their client to hear, for the dollar. I wonder how many fat little checks they got from fishing companies to say what they do.
We here in Australia have been exporting LIVE cattle and sheep to other countries for meat for years and years.....of course we have those experts who tell us that those livestock are killed humanely....until of course someone had the nounce to expose the fraud for what it was, and personally video'd some cretin hamstringing those beasts for his own personal pleasure.
I'm sure....they have SOME professionals culling those seals, but I'd bet my butt to a dollar, we got some real looney toon butchers out there, who just LOVE doing what they do.
But as for culling generally, I still have not been convinced that culling is necessary....I will not ever be swayed by the reply I received by our fine member Dr Goodnow (no offence Doc), to the tune of "Well thats just the way it is". Nope....not substantial enuf.
As for the argument that we NEED to cull them so they won't starve to death and die of disease and all of those other terrible things that happen to baby seals.....well why stop there ???? Let's do that to every other specie of life that exists on this planet should we ASSUME that their quality of life is compromised.......but we don't do we ???? Oh no....we don't, we only pick those specie to thin out when our purpose dictates to us that there are dollars to be made.
Wombat
Exactly. Lets face it, no other animal purposefully culls another to 'help' it. I can hear enough excuses until I'm blue in the face, but when faced with the arguement of overpopulation, well, that's humans' fault. WE are the ones who restrict a species habitat. WE are the ones who upset ecosystems by exterminating certain predators/prey for our pleasure and creating disaster by the unnatural booms of species that follows. And WE are the ones who are going to have to find a better solution than just mindless killing.

And yup, I'm vegetarian too. Don't quite know how vegetarianism got into this matter, but oh well.