The start of a dream; the start of a new beginning.

In less then a weeks time, the event that started vegetarianism and animal activism in general begins. That’s right boys and girl, the brutal seal slaughter in Newfoundland is back.

I’ve been given a whole lot of grief about this throughout the years, but it’s something that matters a great deal to me. It’s not an issue of vegetarians fighting for cute fuzzy animals, nor is it a matter of protesting for attention (as many like to tell me). The fact that as Canadians we live in a time where brutal happenings like this still occur fills me with rage.

Some common misjudged facts the government attempts to tell everyone:

1)      Every part of the seal that the hunters kill is used.

FALSE: In the commercial seal hunt, no part of the seal is consumed or eaten. The seal pelts are sold to fashion houses. Often at times they are left as waste to rot. Burberry is looking pretty good right about now eh?

2)      The hunt is there because there is a problem with seal overpopulation.

FALSE: If anything there is a severe shortage in the population. When European explorers landed on the East coast of Canada, there were an estimated 30 million seals. Between 1950 and 1970 it was estimated that the seal population had declined  to 2 million. This prompted the US government and European nations to ban the importation of seal products.  The Canadian government worked afterwards at population stability but in recent years has moved away from this in order to employ out of work fishermen. The reason behind this is false scientific logic and scapegoating the seals for a decline in the cod population. Cod were over fished which resulted a collapse in the Canadian fishery industry.  In 1999 a survey reported the seals to number above 4 million. This report was severely flawed.

3)      The hunt is necessary for fishermen (non-aboriginals to boot) to make their post winter earnings.

FALSE: If those fishermen require on average 300 dollars for a week’s worth of slaughter, then they should stick with government funding. In the past, they would make even less so the government would spend up to 20 million in subsidies. It’s not significant enough to call it a necessary trade.

4)      Government law states that only adult seals are allowed to be hunted. Implanted are the 3 necessary steps to be taken so the seal is killed humanely.

TRUE: But? These regulations ARE NOT FOLLOWED. Hundreds of videos online prove it. Defenceless pups being targeted, and skinned while still conscious. This my friends is why the seal hunt is so controversial.

Sure. Activists have a reputation to fight upon all grounds of animal rights. Often the seal hunt is related to slaughter housing because of the consumption and inhumanity. But fact is, the seal hunt is an old tradition gone wrong.

It is no longer necessary. It is not something Canada should be proud of. And it is not something that should be supported. Every year the protests get worse and worse, and more and more progress is made each year. With Italy being the last country to promote the ban, the UK and United States came before it.

Do YOUR part and simply fill in your name and email and click send. PETA has a ready made email template, with contacts in place. You just provide your name and email. You can make a differences.

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?page=OnScreenThanks&id=2943&JServSessionIdr004=rz8v8nvvi2.app332a

I’m actually typing the notes as I go, and I’ve read ahead for this class. I’m a good student, promise.

So much to get excited about in the near future guys!

To start, storm the wall is well on its way. Since I’ve taken up the bird-coop since September, the idea of a marathon seems a bit more realistic to me. There’s a good chance I would have laughed in your face if you ever asked me to run one beforehand. This event is huge, and I’ve been stoked to participate in running myself silly, and then climbing a 10 foot wall with the help of some friends.

Missing the Olympics? Get ready because round two is on its way. Paralympics is a go, and I’m sure it won’t disappoint. I’m thinking about getting some sledge hockey tickets and cheering on team Canada. Maybe some more moshing downtown? Speaking of which, I still need to visit the Olympic Store downtown. A friend that works there says stuff is 50% off, granted a good chunk of it is gone. But man, I seriously want a life size Quatchi.

Another tidbit, my inner vampire freaked out when I saw the 10 second preview of eclipse. Full length trailer comes out tomorrow.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k33DEEI-15c[/youtube]

And lastly, my housing fiasco is done and dealt with. I’ve been admitted as an RA in totem, woot!

I feel like the past month has been one of the most amazing in my life. Not only have I met tons of new people, plans for next year are becoming a bit clearer as well. Not to mention the Olympics. That was a once in a lifetime gong show that I will surely miss having in Vancouver; who doesn’t love screaming the national anthem and high fiving random cannucks while moshing on robson square? Last but not least, the RA position is over the horizon. I find out if I got the job sometime tomorrow.

I’m pretty sure both myself and Erica Baker are stoked on life / kinda maybe freaking out. Not only would I love to mentor a group of 30 chilluns next year, I’m banking on it for housing. Those whole search for off campus housing makes my head spin. There are fees needing to be paid coming out the caboodle.

So then comes the hard part. Kind of where I’m at now. Mark has neglected homework a bit and needs to jump right on that. Kind of soon. Second mid term? Crap. I’ve got some of those now that I have 3 science courses.

Hope your semesters are going well! I’ll let you guys know the news tomorrow when I get the phonecall or letter.