decadnids
5th April 2006, 10:02
ok, i might get shot for saying some of this, but here goes.
so in canada, this time of year loads of little seals have their heads smashed in. a massive cull.
the reason for this, so it goes, is that their population has exploded.. so the canadian government feel there is a need for the cull as the seals are taking fish that people think are theirs.
now i am pretty much against commercial fishing, due to how trawlers destroy the sea bed, and kill fish and other marine animals.
now, from doing some research - it would appear that the reaso the seal population has increased so much is that their natural preditors, such as killer whales, population has decreased. thus the seals population has been able to increase. - the decrease in the killer whale population seems to have occured mainly due to environmental damage (such as the exxon valdez oil spill etc) and a combination of the accumulation of PCB's in their body..
Like other animals at the highest trophic levels of the food chain, the orca is particularly susceptible to poisoning via accumulation of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the body. A survey of animals off the Washington coast found that PCB levels in orcas were higher than those in harbour seals in Europe that have been sickened by the chemical. Samples from the blubber of orcas in the Norwegian Arctic show higher levels of PCBs, pesticides and brominated flame-retardants than in Polar bears. However, no direct evidence of sickness in orcas has been found. The most likely effect, if any, would be a reduced rate of reproduction or decreased ability to fight off disease (immunodepression). On November 15, 2005 the United States government listed the Southern Resident population of killer whales as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to deterioration of the three pods which spend most of the year in Georgia and Haro Straits, as well as Puget Sound in British Columbia and Washington State.
so what i am wandering is this. - i know the seal cull is bloody horrible, and its done in a way that is both inhumane, and looks like general blood lust, but shouldn't the protesters and the people who campaign about the seal cull also focus on the fact that the reason why the seal population has increased so much is due to the destruction of the eco-system that they inhabit.
(sorry Tec for another grim post by me).
so in canada, this time of year loads of little seals have their heads smashed in. a massive cull.
the reason for this, so it goes, is that their population has exploded.. so the canadian government feel there is a need for the cull as the seals are taking fish that people think are theirs.
now i am pretty much against commercial fishing, due to how trawlers destroy the sea bed, and kill fish and other marine animals.
now, from doing some research - it would appear that the reaso the seal population has increased so much is that their natural preditors, such as killer whales, population has decreased. thus the seals population has been able to increase. - the decrease in the killer whale population seems to have occured mainly due to environmental damage (such as the exxon valdez oil spill etc) and a combination of the accumulation of PCB's in their body..
Like other animals at the highest trophic levels of the food chain, the orca is particularly susceptible to poisoning via accumulation of Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the body. A survey of animals off the Washington coast found that PCB levels in orcas were higher than those in harbour seals in Europe that have been sickened by the chemical. Samples from the blubber of orcas in the Norwegian Arctic show higher levels of PCBs, pesticides and brominated flame-retardants than in Polar bears. However, no direct evidence of sickness in orcas has been found. The most likely effect, if any, would be a reduced rate of reproduction or decreased ability to fight off disease (immunodepression). On November 15, 2005 the United States government listed the Southern Resident population of killer whales as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due to deterioration of the three pods which spend most of the year in Georgia and Haro Straits, as well as Puget Sound in British Columbia and Washington State.
so what i am wandering is this. - i know the seal cull is bloody horrible, and its done in a way that is both inhumane, and looks like general blood lust, but shouldn't the protesters and the people who campaign about the seal cull also focus on the fact that the reason why the seal population has increased so much is due to the destruction of the eco-system that they inhabit.
(sorry Tec for another grim post by me).