Seal Alert Press Release, 2 July 2008
After the Ministry of Fisheries awarded sealers the largest seal pup quota on record, of 80 000 pups, which lead to the complete collapse of Namibia’s largest seal colony in August last year (2007), just 40 days into the 139 day sealing season. A year later, Moses Maurihungirire, director of resource management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, informed World Media, last Tuesday that the “seal population is healthy and not at risk of extinction”, yet has refused all requests to reveal the results of the colony by colony population surveys for the December 2007 pup count, upon which the total population is based and the sealing quota, and attempted to block Seal Alert-SA private aerial surveys of the seal colonies or to explain what caused the collapse of Namibia largest seal colony, last year.
This was his official reply to my requests, “Dear Francois, thank you very much for your comments”.
To continue with the same seal pup quota announced last year, which caused the collapse, clearly indicates Namibia’s sealing policy is not based on job creation, but seal extermination, cruel or otherwise.
Moses Maurihungirire put his foot in his mouth, when he told a journalist, Ministry of Fisheries here argues that “culling is necessary to maintain seals population and protect fish stock and avoid seals from starving” - if it is, why then is seal culling commercial and not government run, and surely starving seals do not eat fish or can be increasing ?
What don’t we know about this year’s sealing quota ? We do not know what the colony by colony seal population is or the number of pups born or the total seal population? So we cannot assess whether 80 000 reflects 30% of the pups born ? We do not know, how many of these seal pups dies before sealing starts, 7 months after birth or how many is alive for sealers to kill? We do not know how much of last year’s seal pup quota sealers filled? We do not know, how sealers can legally club seal ups beyond the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Fisheries, or how sealers know which seals are pups less than a year old, required to be clubbed according to the regulations? We don’t know what Namibia will do with the killed seals as 100% is exported and not eaten, when the EU introduces a full seal product import ban, later this month ?
If we don’t know these basic seal figures, and Namibia refuses to divulge them, we cannot accept that this seal cull is lawful under the constitution. Whilst the Prime Minister last year waved the constitution in my face, a clause in the constitution article 101 states, “The principles of state policy contained in this Chapter shall not of and by themselves be legally enforceable by any Court”.
Namibia’s seal clubbing policy, which started on 1 July, is now on a collision course with Seal Alert-SA
Sorry Namibia, You Hit Baby Seals - We Hit You !
I hear rumours in Namibia’s fishing industry, that do to raising fuel prices, they want even more seals culled, to decrease the competition and make their fish catching easier. Which no doubt Ministry of Fisheries will be only too happy to facilitate, as otherwise government would need to grant further cash subsidies to keep these fishing companies afloat. All they need to do is fictitiously increase the seal population on paper to award larger quotas.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) Hundreds of people protested seal hunting outside European Union headquarters Tuesday, demanding that the 27-nation bloc impose a total ban on all imports of seal products from Namibia and other countries. Activists from across Europe took part to raise awareness for animal rights as the southern African nation of Namibia opened its seal hunting season.
The above illustrates the power of one. Three years ago nobody in Europe even knew about Namibia’s slaughter of seals, and whilst I have fought with just about everyone connected with this species to raise the awareness of these seals plight, it is good to finally see all the animal rights organizations all coming together to stage a protest on the opening day of Namibia’s baby seal culling season.
Namibia’s constitution states, article 36, the Prime Minister shall be the leader of Government business in Parliament.
Big business internationally is taking note of the baby seal extermination program taking place in Namibia also. Roderick Mukumbira’s article on the 25 June 2008, for Associated Press was printed in Financial newspapers around the world, to name a few, International Business Times, Forbes, Fox News, ABC News, Washington Post, Guardian, CBS, Sunday Independent, Digg, International Herald Tribune, Netscape Money, TransworldNews, MoneyMarket, Startribune and CNBC News. You can read the story on
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/06/25/ap5152902.html and
From Alaska, to the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia, potential tourists to Namibia are reading about Namibia’s awful seal extermination program.
Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA is making sure they do. No longer is this seal clubbing policy the affairs of scientists and government. Every aspect is now being detailed across the globe. International media and Television screens are beaming images of Namibia’s baby seal clubbing policies to millions of people, such as the award winning wildlife series, Vue-du-Ciel, and my interview with Yann Arthus Bertrand was broadcasted on France 2 channel, this year. You can download the video with this link (high quality):
This world trend to save the planet, flies in the face, of Namibia’s anti-seal policy. One only needs to watch carefully the plea of a 13-year old child to the UN,
Bottom-line all Namibia’s seal stats and data are hog-wash. They can make up any figures they want to support their agenda. I know after flying over the seal colonies, that three of their largest seal colonies are no longer there, gone, vanished, collapsed. Likewise all former seal islands remain extinct. Namibia ignores this. But, in order to get them to see reason, we have to show them, that their figures show a collapsing seal population.
According to Ben van Zyl deputy director of resource management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources a decision was taken in July 1994, to cut the seal population in half (if it sounds like genocide it is), within the next five to seven years. The genocidal plan, would throw out the veil of sustainable utilization recommended at 30% of the pups born, fraudulently using the Constitution, and replace it with sealing quotas that exceeded the pups born in order to achieve their master plan of reducing the seals by half.
Finally the truth comes out from Namibia, far from job creation or killing seals for food, Namibia is “culling seals to protect fish stocks”, so says, Moses Maurihungirire, director of resource management at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, last Tuesday.
Namibia claims its seal population eats 900 000 tons of fish as their motive for the cull. It’s a complete thumb-suck as there is no scientific method to accurately calculate seals of all ages, weight and size, fish consumption over a year. On probability it would be closer to 400 000 tons of fish, but of this more than half would consist of non-commercial fish eaten. So in reality its closer to 200 000 tons.
If you re-read my last update, it could be much less. If sealers can only fill 60% of a quota, that is supposed to represent 30% of the seal population. Then without being able to independently verify Namibia’s seal population, on the facts of this, the seal population could be three-times smaller, who then eat less than 70 000 tons of fish.
Since independence in 1990, Namibia has doubled its fishery catch from 300 000 to 600 000 tons. Three - ten times the consumption of seals. Namibians do not eat fish or seals, as 97% and 100% of it is exported.
The seal cull, exempts all the fish eating seals in the colony, even the breeding females, and instead is 93% seal pup based. Pups still unweaned, and suckling milk, do not eat fish.
Where is the logic ? There is no scientific research that supports this theory, that culling seals protects fish stocks, in fact, research proves a cull of seals negatively impacts commercial catch of hake, Namibia’s most valuable exported fish species. The Sealing quota is 93% seal pup based, who at 7-month’s of age do not eat fish, as they are still unweaned and suckling. Whose death therefore cannot benefit fisheries or fish stocks. In fact, all fish eating seals in the seal colonies, except the 6000 bulls shot for their genital exports and those hunted for trophy’s, are all exempt from the cull, specifically even the breeding females. Scientifically more than half a seals diet is made up of non-commercial fish consumption, and 30% of the population is not culled. There are two types of seal colonies in Namibia, those that are not culled, and those that are. These account for 70% of the seal population, and occur on the mainland. After massive annual seal culls since 1972, meant to reduce or control the population, their growth has increased 258%, after culls. Whereas, the seal colonies that were not culled and left alone, reflect only a 64% increase since 1972.
The evidence is clear culling non-fish eating seal pups increases unnaturally the seal population 4-times greater, as it causes breeding females to produce more seal pups, yet Namibia continues to cull seal pups. Which is why Namibia has increased the pup quota 700%.
Do we cull fish who eat fish to protect fish stocks, clearly not, as this would be stupid, so why cull fish eating seals ?
What exactly is the fish eaten consumption of millions of predator fish, sea-birds, other seals, dolphins, whales and sharks, when do we start culling them ?
Where is the scientific proof, that culling 80 000 seal pups, non-fish eaters, benefit the commercial fishing industry and protects fish stocks ?
A far simpler approach would be to reduce commercial fishing, to protect fish stocks, especially fish caught to produce cheap fish-meal which in turn is exported to feed other animals like live-stock, chickens, pigs and domestic animals, who directly cause green-house gases and is in fact bad for these animals.
Far greater importance is the negative image clubbing seals is doing to the Namibian economy.
Francois Hugo of Seal Alert-SA has been advised that an Italian Tour Group to Namibia has taken the tour to the Cape Cross Seal Colony off their travel itinerary, as they want no part of the clubbing of seals. In fact, whilst tourism to these long-haul southern African destinations has been increasing at 10% p.a. Tourists figures to Namibia’s biggest attraction Cape Cross Seal Colony has been dropping year on year, after undercover footage revealed the sealers random barbaric clubbing of any moving seal, young or old in 2000.
Losses to the Namibian economy are staggering, Cape Cross Seal colony visitors have dropped from 70 000 recorded in 2003, to 53 000 recorded in 2006. This effectively implies a 50% drop in Namibia’s estimated 150 000 foreign travelers. Based on an average tour price of 2000 euros, loses are running into the billions of Namibian dollars from tourism.
That means jobs are being lost.
Namibia looks at their seal colonies. All they see is something to hunt and kill, they do this because they feel it is their right, knowing that it is not, claiming the Constitution of Namibia, mandates them to kill, quoting the words “utilization of marine resources”. Yet, nowhere does the Constitution say “Kill”. Its purpose is written in fact to protect this natural heritage for present and future generations. To twist it to mean mandated to kill, is false as the sky is green.
Only a fool would believe clubbing seal pups protects fish stocks.
No government, no Prime Minister, no Minister or sealer or fishermen has the right to threaten the survival of seals, or a seal colony or the species. Extinction is permanent. Namibians do not eat Cape fur seal meat, nor need to wear their skins, or oil or bones or genitals to reproduce. So they in fact, have no valid reason to kill them. When I look at a seal colony, I see a species struggling to survive. I see mass starvation from overfishing, seals drowned and shot by thousands of fishermen, entangled in their fishing pollution, mass disturbance of breeding colonies, physically rounding up and clubbing to death, being hunted and harassed at every instant. Natural mortality doubling. I do not think this is what the Constitution meant, nor do I see this natural heritage in anyway being properly protected.
Besides, the very telling sign, that sealers cannot fill seal pup quotas, is the most obvious, and most ignored. Namibia’s largest former seal island colonies, all of them, still remain extinct from sealing.
The only sane way to protect fish stocks is to reduce mankind’s foot-print on the marine environment and that means reducing commercial fishing, not killing seals instead.
You don’t protect seals by culling sharks or killer-whales, or seabirds or other predator fish - you simply reduce man-kind’s foot-print on the marine environment.
On July 1, starting at 5am, and for the next 139 days, 4 seal rights holders will load their hired “140 unemployed, poor and destitute” workers who live near the seal colony in card-board shacks, into trucks and head-off into the seal breeding colonies to begin assaulting and bashing in the skulls of 80 000 seal pups. After disrupting the seal colony, and dragging their kills to awaiting seal trucks, they will leave just tyre tracks and a blood stained beach to be opened to the paying tourists at 10am.
Clearly these 140 workers do not benefit even from a basic wage, which affords a house, electricity, running water and sanitation. Clearly 4 sealing rights holders are coining all the profits. I urge Namibia to announce the wages these seal clubbers earn.
One of the largest seal colonies to be invaded, is also Namibia’s biggest attraction, attracting 70 000 tourists annually who pay the Namibian government N$2 million for the pleasure of watching and photographing these wild seals. Its marketed as a highlight of their 2000 euro tourist package to Namibia.
Namibia’s Sealing Industry is illegal, wrong and cruel in every sense.
An entire endangered seal colony is disrupted and collapses, thousands of seals flee and wash ashore dead. Sealers illegally drive seals away from the sea and outside of the jurisdiction awarded by the Ministry of Fisheries and contravene regulations by killing anything that looks like a pup, when it is impossible to distinguish which are pups and which are seals, when the quotas awarded exceed what pups are left after mass starvation by double. Whilst the Ministry of Tourism grants trophy hunters the privilege of crawling about in the sand hunting seals with bow and arrows and rifles, before commercial bull season starts where bulls are shot simply for the value of their penis in some or other sex potion, as next year breeding season is about to begin.
In total contradiction to this all, a government sign-board, funded by the Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development, at the entrance to the colony urges tourists to help Namibia protect this unique environment, and warns them that “Litter Kills!” these seals, whilst showing a seal pup suckling on its mother and a seal dead from fishing entanglement.
The United States banned these seal pup products and skins in 1972, likewise has the EU, and is currently considering a full seal import ban of all seal species killed commercially, to be announced soon.
Is Namibia’s deceit of this awful seal slaughter extended to other governments and their funding, who grants funding to protect the seals, whilst Namibia grants rights to slaughter them ? Is the Danish government even aware of the seal slaughter on this colony, or the thousands of seals shot and drowned by Namibia’s commercial fishermen, or the tens of thousands of seals dying from starvation from Namibia’s overfishing policies ?
As the founder of Seal Alert-SA, I have to admit that even after 3 years of campaigning to end this senseless and sick seal pup slaughter, even after meeting the Prime Minister and various industries, I will not be able to stop Namibia assaulting and clubbing 80 000 seal pups to death this year or shooting 6000 bulls for the seal-penis trade.
What I can do, in fact what each and every one of us can do, is tell Namibian’s in no uncertain terms, if you hit the seals, we will hit you were it hurts the most - economically.
This past year alone on television programs in South Africa, Africa, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, US and the UK, I have informed tens of thousands of potential visitors to Namibia, and will continue to do so through newspaper and radio interviews as well as further TV programs on national broadcasters and on the internet.
A short 10 minute television program aired in France recently, had over 5000 people log onto the Seal Alert-SA website the next day, after seeing the seal clubbing, to voice their outrage at the clubbing and show their support for Seal Alert-SA. Over 42 000 citizens in over 80 countries around the world have signed our online petitions to end seal clubbing in Namibia.
If I reach just a 1000 potential tourists a year, and truthfully educate them regarding Namibia’s disregard for its wildlife/seal heritage and seal clubbing policy, who in turn then choose another holiday destination. Economically this has already caused Namibia to lose over N$100 million. Each tourist lost is a tourist never recovered.
Perhaps this is why Namibia is trying so hard to silence me. Namibia calls revealing the truth about their national policy of sealing culling, economic sabotage or repetitive. I call it truth.
Why in my last meeting with the Namibian government, stakeholders from the seal industry, Ministries of Environment and Tourism, Trade and Industry, Foreign Affairs, Fisheries and Marine Resources, and commercial industries like De Beers Marine, Namdeb, Namibia Breweries, Namibian Tourism Board and the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting.
Perhaps too after attempting to have the Seal Alert and BoycottNamibia websites closed down, as well as trying to have the Seal Culling videos removed from youtube, and in getting South African scientists not to talk to Seal Alert, as well as attempting to get the EU not to impose a Seal Product import ban and attempt to block our aerial surveys of the seal colonies, whilst banning all observation, monitoring or photographing of the seal clubbing.
Failing all this, perhaps this is why the Namibian government dangled a false- carrot to Seal Alert promising a continuance of our meeting if, “Seal Alert agreed to refrain from its campaign to tarnish the image of the Namibian Government policies of harvesting its natural resources as it is now doing by sending damaging information on the internet”.
One has to question immediately, why the Prime Minister and Namibian government is involving itself in an issue that is basically a small commercial enterprise that employs part-time less than 140 people. Surely the government has more important things to do, than involve itself, defend and protect such a minor little industry.
Why threaten an entire country’s economy so that 4 seal rights holders can club seal pups to death.
It makes no sense at all, Prime Minister of Namibia. A marine mammal is not a fish. Why protect sealers who contribute only N$ 206 000 to government, whilst eco-tourism to seal colonies generates N$2 million.
Remove Cape fur seals from the Fisheries and protect them, like the 37 species of whales and dolphins, 5 species of seal, 32 species of seabirds, marine sea turtles and great white sharks, all of which are found in your waters, all of which consume fish, and all of which are marine resources who are protected and not killed commercially, including many species of non-commercial fish which prey on commercial fish.
Discussion time is over. It’s time to save seals and show the world what an amazing species this really is.
Seal Alert-SA in its next update will unveil its plan to educate over 300 000 tourists already in Africa, and with many on-bound to Namibia, daily throughout the year, about Namibia’s sick seal clubbing policy.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
10 years of Seal Protection and Rescue
