With their beady little eyes and flappin' heads so full of lies

Canada's seal hunt started yesterday. Until Friday, I did not know that this was still even being done! I thought it had stopped back in the late 80s. Apparently, it had just slowed down. Until 1995, when the hunt resumed in full force. My ignorance of the news is a good thing sometimes. I spent at least 2 hours Friday morning crying over this. Seriously bawling. Matthew didn't know quite what to do. He is torn between his love of animals and the cruelty of the hunt and his understanding (belief) that seal populations should not get out of hand. 6 million seals is quite alot, but so is 6.5 billion people that currently inhabit this earth. I don't see any "human culls" going on. Well....maybe it does, but not nearly enough.

According to the US Humane Society, 26,719 seals have been killed since the hunt started Saturday morning at 6am. They have a quota of 325,000 seals. The hunt can last anywhere from 3 - 10 days.

I am just sickened by the whole thing. This has renewed my interest in the Humane Society and the work that they do. I used to be a passive member and donate money occasionally, but I am going to step that up now.

This is the HSUS statement issued Saturday morning:

"Starting at dawn today, boats carrying hundreds of seal hunters converged in the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Over the past few days, the Protect Seals team has searched the entire Gulf for the harp seal nursery, but failed to find it. The few seal pups we've seen cling to the scattered, tiny pans of ice that remain across the ocean. Scientists fear many of the harp seals born this year would have drowned as the ice cover melted from under them before they were old enough to swim proficiently.

Now, the few surviving baby seals we've watched for the last several days are being killed as Canada's gruesome seal hunt begins again. Over the next few weeks, sealers will attempt to locate, club and shoot to death thousands more baby seals - totaling well over 300,000 if they get their way.

The hunt is inhumane and cruel. Veterinary studies have shown that humane killing guidelines are not enforced and in many cases seals are skinned while conscious. Each year, parliamentarians, journalists and animal welfare observers report incredible cruelty at the hunt, including dragging conscious seals across the ice with boathooks, shooting seals and leaving them to suffer in agony and skinning seals alive."

I am doing my part by banning any and every thing to do with Canada. I don't eat seafood, but my husband does and he has at least agreed to not eat Canadian seafood anymore. We rarely ate at Red Lobster in the past, but now it is definitely on our shit-list because they are huge buyers of Canadian seafood. Along with Joe's Crab Shack, Long John Silver's and Outback. We prefer Longhorn to Outback so that is not a problem. Joe's will be tough for Matthew and LJS will be tough for me. But I don't need to eat that greasy crap anyway.

I was considering going to Whistler for our ski trip next year. But not now. It will be Denver. I guess I will also never see Niagara Falls. I know I can see them from NY, but I have been told the Canadian side is better. Oh well.

I have been upset about this all weekend. Among other things of course.

Money for one. We have so many expenses and not enough income. I guess I am going to have to go back to work full-time. At least for awhile. Granted, these are not life or death expenses. A dive watch/ computer. New furniture. (we haven't bought furniture yet, but we need it) Paying for the dive trip in May. The boat. All of those things we could do without, but don't want to. So if it means I have to work to have them - then so be it.

But right now I must mourn the seals and hate Canada.

They're not even a real country anyway