Scotland's Secret Slaughter
An estimated 3-5,000 seals are shot by fishermen perfectly legally in Scottish waters every year, persecuted for the 'crime' of eating fish. There is no scientific evidence to justify claims that seals are threats to fish stocks when human over-fishing clearly is. For example, decades of mass culling in Canada has not led to any recovery in cod stocks.
Furthermore, the solution to any 'rogue' seals predating on fish farms or in sports fishing rivers is to employ adequate anti-predator devices. Unfortunately, all to often the bullet is seen as the cheapest and preferred solution.
SPAG believes that seals provide valuable income to Scotland through nature tourism and seals are worth far more alive than dead.
At present, seals are covered by the Conservation of Seals Act (1970), which is little more than a licence to kill them, except during the breeding season. SPAG is calling for the CSA to be changed in order to strictly protect seals. We are calling for a Seal Protection Act to replace the CSA, whereby the killing of seals will be strictly forbidden.
If you would like to help our campaign, please write to the relevant UK and Scottish Ministers calling for the protection of our seals. Their addresses are:
Lord Rooker, Minister for Animal Welfare, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, Nobel House, London SW1P 3JR
Richard Lochhead MSP Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP Seal-friendly salmon campaign
As well as our political campaign SPAG has created a coalition of groups working together to help end Scotland's seal slaughter by targeting Scottish salmon products and the retailers that sell them.
If you buy salmon products please click on the link seal-friendly salmon which will take you to our campaign site. There you will be able to use a draft message to write or email the major UK retailers seeking their assurances that their salmon products come from suppliers that do not kill seals. If they can't give you an absolute guarantee that their salmon suppliers don't kill seals then tell them you will buy your salmon from someone that can.
Thanks for supporting our campaign. Please visit this site again for regular campaign updates.
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