Namibia could pay heavy price for seal cull

INTERNATIONAL pressure to stop Namibia’s annual seal cull keeps building as more conservation groups enter the country to protest what is claimed to be the world’s largest marine slaughter.

Yesterday, Earthrace Conservation, an organisation that focuses on marine conservation, warned that Namibia is running the risk of being placed in the same category as Japan, whose annual killing of dolphins has earned it an international black mark from conservationists and tourists. The organisation warned that the seal cull is gaining increasing world publicity, most of which consists of heavy criticism.’Your seal cull, it’s on the world stage,’ said Pete Bethune, founder of Earthrace Conservation.’You will pay a heavy price in terms of tourism and gain a black mark against your country for a long time,’ he said. Bethune said that apart from Namibia and Canada, no other country participates in seal culling any longer. ‘For a modern country, this is unacceptable,’ he stressed. Bethune added that the Ministry of Fisheries’ argument that seals threaten local fish stocks, ‘does not take into account the key role seals play in the ecosystem’. He said the reason why Namibia’s coastal waters are under pressure is ‘overfishing, not the seals’. Reports this year have indicated that Namibia’s annual seal quota, while less than that of Canada, does result in more deaths. An international report recently stated that only 38 000 seals were killed in Canada this year, despite an allowable quota of 400 000. According to Earthrace, seal-based eco-tourism brings in around N$8 million a year, while the seal cull earns Namibia between half a million and N$1 million a year. Namibia’s ‘arguments for the seal cull don’t stack up’, he said. Bethune said other countries accept that seals form part of the ecosystem and warned that removing large numbers of seals could have critically negative impacts on the ecosystem.The annual seal cull started on July 1, after Namibia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources gave the go-ahead for killing 85 000 seal pups and 6 000 bulls at the Cape Cross seal colony.Bethune lashed out at Government’s refusal to allow local and international coverage of the event and said that ‘if Namibia thinks this is OK, then allow filming’. While Canada faces similar international protests, the country does allow animal welfare groups observer status at the hunts, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) director Jason Bell-Leask said recently. He added that ‘the Namibian government is paranoid about keeping its seal hunt, and presumably the inhumane activities of its clubbing teams, as hush-hush as possible …’According to Earthrace, the seal cull does not employ many people, nor does it contribute significantly to the local economy. In fact, Bethune pointed out that the resources implemented by Government – three patrol boats and army personnel guarding the culling grounds around the clock – to cordon off the area from curious onlookers – are not justified for such a small industry. Bell-Leask of IFAW recently said that the seal cull is ‘cruel, wasteful and out of step with global sentiment that believes commercial sealing should end’. ‘Namibia can produce no rational justification – scientific or otherwise – for a hunt which is nothing more than a beach-side bloodbath.’According to IFAW, Namibia’s seal cull is arguably one of the cruelest on the planet.’The chasing, herding and beating to death of panicked baby seals while they are still nursing is a horrific and unnecessary practice that should be stopped immediately,’ it said.