And now, a word from Cathy

This won't be a regular occurrence but after watching the first part of the Junos last Sunday, Cathy was a mite bit upset with Pamela Anderson. She wrote something out and asked if I would put it up on the blog. Which I said I would, and then promptly lost track of it under a small pile of papers on the table.

So my apologies about the timing; it's my fault.

Now, a message from my lovely wife:

I understand how some people feel about the seal hunt and appreciate their right to feel that way. But I thought some people might like to hear what my Grade 4/5 students in the North think about it.

"I eat the meat. My grandmother makes the best stew."
"We eat what we want and any extra goes to the dogs."
"My aunt made my seal skin hat."

Up here seal skin is used to make a lot of clothing such as boots, mits, parkas, etc. I personally want a pair of mits. There is nothing like it to keep you warm.

Some of my students love "land food." It might be the only meat they get.

Craig back here again. To that I will add this: Critics who say they are fine with the Inuit hunting seals, but are opposed to the gulf hunt miss an important point: The two hunts are linked and saying otherwise displays either ignorance or lack of respect to the Inuit. When the gulf hunt ended in the 80's, no region was more devastated than the North. Hunters who had killed seals and sold their pelts, a tradition that went on for centuries, suddenly found they were literally getting pennies for their efforts. There is ample evidence of the effect it had. Of increased suicide rates, alcoholism, abuse and a variety of other social problems.

If the hunt stops off Newfoundland, the same thing will like happen once again in the North. It will hurt Newfoundland, but people will survive. The consequences for Arctic communities doesn't bear thinking about.

One final thing. We both watched My Ancestors Were Rogues and Murderers Tuesday night and were suitably impressed. Anne Troake crafted a solid documentary. But the one thing that struck me was when she asked Jack Troake about the seal meat being wasted. His response made perfect sense, and yet I'm sure I've never heard it before: Of course it's not wasted. Whatever they don't take goes to the bottom of the ocean and other marine life eat it.

It's arrogance to assume that "no one eats seal" (hello Heather McCartney), just as it's a different kind of arrogance to assume that if humans don't use it, then it's wasted. Nature is awfully efficient at finding a use for most things. We just tend to forget it.

This, by the way, will be the last thing I write on the seal hunt for the foreseeable future. It's simply a topic that always upsets and occasionally enrages me. As it's a state I don't enjoy being in constantly, I think it's time for me to give it a rest.

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