Canada Ignores Rescue Option, Kills 500 Endangered Narwhals
The Canadian government opted last week to allow the killing 500 narwhals trapped beneath ice rather than calling in icebreakers to free the animals, claiming the process would have been too stressful for the whales.
Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and star of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars, wrote a lengthy condemnation of the Canadian government’s decision. He noted that the government provides millions to fund ice-breaking for the annual baby seal hunt, but rejected the idea when proposed in order to save the whales.
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Canada allowed Inuit hunters to shoot the whales as they swam one-by-one to the one hole in the ice where they could come up for air. If minimizing stress was the goal, they miserably failed.
Watson believes the decision was made purely for economic reasons: breaking ice costs money, while killing narwhals makes money.
“Where Canada could have delivered the gift of life, they have instead unleashed a torrent of violence that has spewed the hottest of blood into the frigid seas of the high north,” wrote Watson, who is a Canadian citizen.
“Narwhal tusks sell for thousands of dollars and this bonanza was 4 times [the Inuits’] allowed ‘legal’ kill. This was an opportunity to put hundreds of valuable ‘unicorn horns’ on the market and to bring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the economy of the far North,” he continued. “Every Canadian should hang their head in shame at this atrocious environmental crime.”
Correction: Narwhals are in fact merely a threatened species, not endangered. However, there appear to be around 45,000 still in existence, meaning this killing spree wiped out a large chunk of the population. Narwhals also happen to be considered the animal most threatened by climate change, even more so than polar bears. It is also worth noting that the number of narwhals killed in this incident is actually now approaching 600.
Photo Credit: Glenn Williams on WikiMedia Commons under Creative Commons license.
You people need to actually learn about the issues before you go on your little Disney fantasy-land rants. Not every death in the world is an “atrocity” simply because you choose to label it as such. There are worse things happening out there in your own neighborhoods that you choose to ignore in favor of this? If you want to be ashamed of something, be ashamed of your ignorance.
Its just fucking whales, this kind of thing is part of the natural cycle of life, seriously. And the “sea shepard” and his crew are terrorists who could be fixed with a torpedo or two.
Cry some more please, because whales never died before evil capitalists took over everything, they played and froliced in warm bubblegum oceans. There were no wars and inequality in the whale society, and they produced no greenhouse gas. We sure are terrible, people that is. Sure we cure diseases and produce arts but who knows how much whale knowledge has been lost on the world since we took over.
The Narwhales were dead. Sad, The Inuit harvested them. Great! Get over it.
@Random and john: I find it hilarious that you think a Canadian news network is unbiased, not to mention that the article itself only features interviews from department officials and the Inuits who profited. I bet Fox News is your unbiased source of US news as well. They report, you decide, right?
Torpedo the Sea Shepard!
Club the Seals!
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/wp-content/uploads/sealmn002-cu3.jpg
Your tears are sweet hippie fuckers
It’s really enough!! The Canadians continue their cruel Seal clubbing against years of public outcry world wide, now they shot 500 red listed narwhals!!!! in a move of convenience and again - greed. To all business owners and consumers: Let’s finally boycott not only Canadian sea food but all Canadian goods. What do we have social networks for??? Let’s make it happen this time.
Whether there are short term costs to the tax payers or not, there are social moral costs. Imagine the credibility Canada would have with world leaders in guiding the responsible management of natural resources if we took the high road. Think of the role of the rain-forest and how important it is to human survival. Who has the morally authority to influence the Brazilians away from exploiting the rain forest? In light of the Narwhal incident, it most certainly won’t be Canada.
To your comments: Since when is killing “natural selection”? They would have died from breaking the ice? They would run away from the noise? How did the killers get to kill them then?