Comments on: Senator Obama To PETA: Canadian Seal Hunt Is Inhumane

By: VeggieTart

VeggieTart — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:29:39 +0000

Jake, my dear, a lot of us who post here (save for the trolls) are veg*an and pretty damned outraged over what goes on in factory farming (and it’s not just the slaughterhouses). But some issues are low-hanging fruit, and it’s easy to get people who aren’t animal activists on board; banning killing cute baby seals, is one example. Foie gras is maybe another. Intense confinement of animals is a third.

You’re probably right that the seals get a lot of attention because they’re cute and because people object far more strenuously to fur than they do to meat (I know I did when I was omni). But I’m sure you know it is quite possible to be outraged over several things at once, and the various issues using animals for food, clothing, and entertainment, are just some of the things that piss me off.

By the way, if Obama did write a letter to PETA expressing his outrage over the seal hunt, I hope he can find a minute or two to pen a similar letter to Canadian Prime Minster Stephen Harper and his successors until the hunt is banned for good.

By: tina

tina — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:59:28 +0000

I quit eating meat b/c of the slaughterhouses. The seals are just extra bad b/c they ARE so cute, and the way they are killed is just horrific, and their white fur against the blood… I cannot imagine what kind of person it takes to do that. They are just as evil to me as the extremist who carry out be-headings. How can you do that to another living being!?

By: Vegetarian Star » Blog Archive » Who Wants A Shirtless Barack Obama For PETA?

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:29:55 +0000

[...] Source: thestar.com via ecorazzi.com [...]

By: herwin

herwin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:48:11 +0000

when i read the comments of the pro seal hunting in The Star they look similar to “Jake’s” comment, “i am animal lover but..”, “because it is fluffy and cute”,”no more brutal than goes on in a slaughterhouse”, etc.

By: herwin

herwin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:36:34 +0000

and since when is “Obama on board for ending this inhumane hunt” ?
just because he (or his aid, who knows) wrote one letter to sombody when he was a senator ? If the president of the usa really would be “on board”, the hunt would be stopped within one year.

By: herwin

herwin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:31:15 +0000

Not very accurate. an individual (who happened to be a Peta member, and might also be a member of several other ar groups) did send his concerns to senator Obama, and senator Obama replied to this individual, there wasn’t any correspondence between Peta and Obama.
and a big thanks to Jake for his sharp and keen observation that the rest of us are all blind and only want to protect the seals because they are so darn cute.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:22:18 +0000

Jake, I’m a long-time (35 years) opponent of the seal slaughter and I’m Canadian. I also oppose shark finning. I also oppose the apartheid of Palestine. I also oppose all commercial slaughter for food and I’m a vegan. Before you make such sweeping judgments of those of us who are outraged by the seal slaughter, maybe you should know more about us. They’re not just cute, and your suggestion that this is what motivates outrage is lame. They have a right to live out their natural lives.

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:08:21 +0000

As an animal lover I ask this question hoping for objectivity: would this get a fraction of the attention it gets from people if the seals weren’t so cute?

Personally I think this is no where near as horrible as what goes on in the average slaughterhouse. At least some seals have a chance. At least they have lived in the wild.

Most animals that North Americans eat have lived hellish lives that always end in mechanical slaughter.

Not saying the seal hunt is OK. Just think we are blind to much worse things happening on a much larger scale.

By: Kristi

Kristi — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:05:18 +0000

To help the beautiful harp seals go to http://www.harpseals.org

By: hil

hil — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:03:12 +0000

yeah talk about a president that is pulled in a million directions…