More seal hunt chaos

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is trying to restrict observation of the seal hunt by increasing the distance we must remain from sealers from 10 to 20 meters (they have posted about this here). This is absolute bullshit and needs to be prevented. Whether you are in the US or Canada, you can write a letter to the DFO urging them to stop this law implementation. The site gives you some tips on what to include in your letter, and I really urge everyone who has five minutes to spare to visit and send your own letter by Friday, February 16th: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/dfo_observe_hunt/

I cannot even describe how infuriated I am. We have the right to document activity that takes places in a public space, and these observation restrictions only highlight just how guilty the Canadian goverment is. Why try to hide something if you feel you have every right to do it? It is quite obvious this new law is being implemented because observers are 'interfering' with seal hunters doing their job. Unfortunately for the DFO, the only violence that has taken place on the ice has been hunters pushing, shoving, hitting and yelling at observers who have every right to be there. I have seen this violence with my own eyes in a slew of documentaries that have aired on television. I cannot believe that instead of paying attention to all the backlash from Canadian citizens they are trying to cover the seal hunt up! They are pissed off that we are pissed off, so their next move is to sweep the issue under the rug and shade Canadians from seeing what is happening in their own damn country? Sorry, but the Canadian Charter will not support that. It guarantees the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication." This certainly includes being able to have opinions on the seal hunt and being able to express these opinions via any media. It infuriates me that the DFO thinks keeping Canadians away is actually going to solve their problem. It is going to infuriate Canadians more and cause more backlash. Suddenly, although we still know the cruel, violent and completely unnecessary practice of clubbing seals is going on, we are going to be distanced from it. How the hell is that going to solve anything? That is going to cause more anger and more resentment. The government is not listening and it is doing its best to keep us quiet. I already know this is going to fail to do that if this silly law even passes.

I really do urge everyone against the seal hunt to take a moment and write a letter. Even just a paragraph will help increase the volume of letters the DFO receives, and that will look better regardless of whether or not all of the letters are the length of essays. So once again, if you have a spare moment before Friday, please visit The Humane Society web site and send a letter: https://community.hsus.org/campaign/dfo_observe_hunt/. You can also send an e-mail directly to resatl@dfo-mpo.gc.ca.

This is a complete violation of human rights and makes them look all the more guilty. It will not silence anyone. Canadians deserve to know what is going on in their own country, and the rest of the world has the right to witness the seal hunt and help with making it an illegal practice.

Edit: By the way, some of you who are interested in the seal hunt may want to read over the DFO site I have linked. Their "Myths and Realities" section is particularly interesting (and contains outright lies). And I love how they state in their FAQ, "A hakapik is an efficient tool designed to kill the animal quickly and humanely." Yup, bashing skulls in until dead... does not get more 'humane' than that. In fact, here is a site that claims most of their 'truths' are lies: http://www.ontario.dk/The_Truth.htm