And now, from the "O Canada, quit killing seals, yeah yeah" files, and Yahoo! News...

Sudiegirl sez: Don’t get me wrong. I am against animal cruelty. I really am. But what is it with entertainers who also feel the need to be political activists of a sort? Did I ASK for politics with my $200 concert ticket? NO. There’s nothing wrong with political activism, but when you’re an entertainer, every move you make is tainted with spin control, and the sincerity can be questioned (and rightly so) by the public.

Also (and I apologize if I hurt feelings here…) does it seem like Paul is lookin’ OLD, especially next to his “Oh, no, I’m not a trophy wife – wink, wink” wife, Heather Mills? If they love each other, yay rah, fine, go nuts. But it seems sometimes like she’s a gold-digger, and all of a sudden she’s all over the newspapers just for being Paul’s wife. At least LINDA had her own career and her own fortune (heiress to the Eastman fortune never hurt anyone…), and was talented in her own right. This Heather chick just dresses up in clothing so everyone notices her flat tummy and Paul drools all over the place just looking at it. Sigh…

Paul McCartney, Wife to Fight Seal Hunt
By BETH DUFF-BROWN, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 1 minute ago

Opponents of Canada's seal hunt have a powerful ally in their bid to end the annual slaughter: Paul McCartney, who has pledged to take to the ice floes and frolic with the doe-eyed pups before the harvest gets under way. (I hate to tell him, but sometimes seals can get quite aggressive…or is that sea lions?)

The former Beatle and his wife, Heather Mills McCartney, arrived Wednesday night in this small fishing community on Canada's Atlantic coast and intend to land a helicopter on the ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Thursday if weather permits. (I’d like to know what they’re going to do if the weather doesn’t permit? Go curling?)

The longtime animal-rights activists want to publicize the plight of the fluffy white pups, which are calved and weaned from their mothers on the frigid ice before being clubbed to death. (As opposed to the more humane death of being eaten by a walrus or a killer whale…at least that’s NATURE doing its work as opposed to a bunch of underpaid seal-skinners.)

The United States has banned Canadian seal products since 1972 and the European Union banned the white pelts of baby seals in 1983. (Wow…it’s been that long, huh?)

The British government is also considering banning the import of seal goods. Groups such as Respect for Animals and the Humane Society of the United States, which are coordinating the McCartneys' visit, are encouraging people to boycott Canadian seafood as a show of solidarity. (How can you tell if it’s Canadian seafood? Does it wear a stocking cap or a hockey jersey? Does it say “How’s it goin’, eh?”)

"I think the McCartneys are two of the most visible people in the world, and with them drawing attention to the fact that this hunt is still going on, this is going to get that message out across the world," said Rebecca Aldworth, who will be observing and documenting her seventh seal hunt for the Humane Society. (Again, I’m sure the intent is honorable, but I can’t get the phrase “ulterior motive” out of my head. Are they really sincere, or is this just keeping McCartney visible so people will buy his recordings and go to his concerts?)

Aldworth said the McCartneys quizzed her long and hard about the annual harvest, including the economic benefits that sealing brings to the local fishermen, whose livelihoods were devastated when the Atlantic Ocean cod stocks dried up in the mid 1990s. (Well, as long as the phrase “Have you ever blown a seal?” wasn’t asked, I guess it’s cool, huh?)

The Canadian government endorses the harvest as a cultural right for many Maritimers and announced a hunting management plan in 2003 with a quota of 975,000 seals over three years. (Huh? Now wait a minute…I guess I don’t get this whole “cultural right” thing. When I think “culture”, I think of things like wearing kilts or doing traditional dances. I didn’t know Maritimers were an ethnic group of any sort…did you?)

About 325,000 seal pups were killed during the hunt last year, bringing the local fishermen $14.5 million in supplemental income, which they say their families badly need during the winter offseason. (Well, if seal pelts are banned in the US and the European Union, who’s buying the pelts? And can’t they do something else? I don’t mean to sound like a mealy-mouthed do-gooder here, but come on. Surely, in this day and age, there are options for these people, right?)

The dates for the spring leg (Time for a Butt-head moment...huh- huh...they said "leg")of the hunt have yet to be announced as the unseasonably mild temperatures in northeastern Canada have made the ice thin. (Well, I guess Paul and Heather will need to be really careful about where they tread, huh? And Heather…don’t wear a belly shirt in that part of the country…you might get frostbite.)

Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said Canada would not terminate the annual hunt and insisted it is the most regulated mammal harvest in the world. The government says the country's seal population is abundant, estimating there are 5 million harp seals. (Well, that’s interesting…but does that mean they’ll overpopulate if humans don’t thin them out?)

"I would encourage Mr. McCartney when he comes here to see the effect this is having on the economy and to realize this is sustaining people in their home communities," Hearn said. (I have an excellent idea…McCartney could hire the displaced seal hunters! They could be his roadies, his handypersons, and they could club anyone into submission who refuses to eat a veggie hot dog at one of ol’ Paul’s arena concerts. It works all the way around!)

Aboriginal and Inuit subsistence and commercial hunters begin the kill Nov. 15 in Canada's vast expanse of frozen northern waters. The spring leg of the commercial hunt starts in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and then moves to the Atlantic Ocean about 30-40 miles away from Newfoundland.

Harp seals have been hunted commercially off Newfoundland since the early 1700s. They were first harvested for their oil, but now are culled mostly for their pelts, sold mostly for the fashion industry in Norway, China and Russia. (Well, that explains who’s buying the pelts…undernourished runway models?)
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On the Net:
Humane Society of the United States: http://www.hsus.org
Respect for Animals: http://www.respectforanimals.org
Federal agency Fisheries and Oceans Canada: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/

Sudiegirl’s final opinion?

Again, I agree with what McCartney’s doing in spirit, but as far as in practice, it still just seems like a publicity stunt. Sorry…I should believe in him more, but I just don’t have it in me at this point.

Sudiegirl the skeptical (but still adorable)