DFO Shirks Duty, Delivers Death Sentence to 500 Narwhals

DFO Shirks Duty, Delivers Death Sentence to 500 Narwhals

Published on Nov 28, 2008 - 6:19:18 AM

Nov. 26, 2008 - This week - rather than sending a Coast Guard icebreaker to free an estimated 500 narwhals trapped in the ice on the north shore of Baffin Island - the Canadian government allowed hunters in Nunavut to slaughter the whales. As of Nov. 25 the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had estimated that local hunters had killed more than 300 of the whales, and the killing continues. The quota for Nunavut hunters this year was 130 narwhals, which has already been exceeded by more than 260 whales.

"Local hunters shot the narwhals as they surfaced to breathe in the only leads of open water," said Rebecca Aldworth, director of Humane Society International/Canada. "The DFO has tried to defend its unconscionable choice not to break the ice and free the whales, claiming that the noise of the icebreaker would have been 'stressful' for the narwhals. Clearly, the deafening blasts of the rifles, and the volumes of blood filling the water in the only breathing holes available is far more stressful."

As of Nov. 24, no DFO enforcement officers were on the scene, and more than 200 whales had already been killed, making this a largely unregulated slaughter. Veterinary authorities agree that killing whales is inherently inhumane because of their large size. Instant kills are rare - even with grenade-tipped harpoons - it can take several minutes and as long as an hour or more for whales to die.

The DFO makes multiple icebreakers available to assist sealing vessels at taxpayers' expense for months on end during the annual commercial seal hunt, but has refused to use one to break a path to freedom for 500 trapped whales.

Conservationists note that along with polar bears, narwhals are the marine mammal species most susceptible to the impacts of global warming. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has put narwhals on their "red list" - the species that are at the highest risk of global extinction. The Canada-Greenland Joint Commission on the Conservation and Management of Narwhal and Beluga and the International Whaling Commission have both stated that narwhal hunting may not be sustainable.

For critical animal welfare and conservation reasons, Humane Society International/Canada is once again calling on the DFO to immediately suspend the narwhal slaughter, and deploy a Coast Guard icebreaker to save the remaining 200 whales.

Website: www.hsicanada.ca

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Comments

Tagak
02 Dec 2008, 15:04

John B
We Inuit have found that scientific community applied Science sometimes out dated stuff to answer a question and the answer they provided is incomplete because only earthly materials are considered and that “bring us so little happiness”. When we Inuit try to answer a question we try and consider earthly and heavenly stuff so the answer we gave will be complete.

John B
02 Dec 2008, 14:21

Narwhals

Peace cannot be kept by force.
It can only be achieved by understanding.

A.E.

Why doe this magnificent applied Science which saves work and makes life easier
Bring us so little happiness?
The simple answer runs Because we have not yet learned to make sensible use of it.
A.E. CIT 1931

To the narwhals

It passed like some slow passing ship with sail unfurled
Waiting in seas by scarce a wavelet curled;
Beheld the slow star-paces of the skies overhead
And grew from strength to strength through centuries a new

God is in heaven and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.

John B

Tagak
02 Dec 2008, 10:40

Joseph you are partly right that we Inuit were labeled as savages and people are coming around that and found that we were people too. Were the whales were got in the freezing ice in Pond area the only light they have now is between 10am and 2pm and the rest of the time, it is dark. As we Inuit found out by living with wildlife we have our most respect for them. We Inuit also found that there is no one on earth who can condemn other human beings except one that we Inuit called Nunaup Angajuqqaga that is Inuktitut word for Parent of the Earth. So there is hope for you to find out more about Inuit people and that we have made it this far we just might go on for more time.

Joseph
02 Dec 2008, 05:40

This is a dark day for Canada and the world, evil runs unchecked as humanity in its lust for greed and blood perpetrates a global ecological holocaust of animals unprecedented in history. If there was just ONE human involved, no expense would have been spared to rescue them. Instead, because these are "lesser" creatures (same way we regarded Black and Inuit people once), then these beautiful creatures are massacred for our filthy stinking profit. It's blood money and I hope it condemns every native person involved, and every DFO official involved, to an eternity of suffering in Hades when they die and meet the maker whose creations they gleefully slaughtered.

I am ashamed to be Canadian and I increasingly hate my country and all the millions of dead animals that paint our flag red.

Tagak
01 Dec 2008, 15:39

When I read something like this I always think that there is aonther group who does not know Inuit very well. As quest for knowledge is here to stay I thought I write my piece here. Inuit would not like to see any wildlife suffer. Inuit also have said that the seas'can only hold so many sea mammals and if there are too many the wildlife will die off because of their food source. Some whales will beach themself were near by people are not whale eating pepole. Other whales will get got in the frozen north. As we Inuit were taught not to watch any wildlife suffer in this case whales around Pond Inlet area, were harvested to put food on the floor for us. By harvesting them they did not suffer. Inuit have this knowledge because that's how we survived to this day.