The world of Paul Watson, seal-hunter hunter
Anti-sealer activist Paul Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, spoke to me today from the Halifax airport as soon as he landed. He’s the man who drives the sealing industry mad — raving mad. Beat-you-over-the-head mad.
Watson, who frequently sails his protesters into the belly of the seal-culling beast, announced that the recent loss of four sealers who were drowned when their boat capsized following a deadly Key-stone Cops Canadian Coast Guard tow, paled in comparison to the loss of seals, which he said, “is a greater tragedy.” He went on to name-call the sealers saying that they were nothing more than vicious baby-killers and “cigarette smoking apes with clubs.”
Kind of nasty considering the recent deaths.
Watson demurred. Then went on. “I had 30 sealers beat me almost to death. I don’t exactly feel great about these people.”
One deer hunter called in to say that he can’t buy his deer meat at Sobey’s and while his hunting is recreational he still eats what he shoots. Watson had less of a problem with this guy. His concern, he told listeners, was our raping of the environment: depleted fish stocks, species elimination, etc. Paul Watson particularly singled out the Fisheries Ministry for its incompetence. How true. The proof is in the pudding with the Cod on that one.
But, surely, recreational hunting is more heinous than people who are culling animals for profit. Burt Watson went on to characterize the sealing industry as a sham, as a form of welfare. And that we should just pay the folks not to hunt.
More callers said they support Watson than didn’t. His star turn in the documentary “Sharkwater: from the son of my old friends Brain and Sandy Stewart of Tribute Magazine Fame, Rob Stewart, hasn’t hurt his profile. He loves the battle.
The fixation on seals though has me a bit concerned.
Seals are seen as sympathetic for two reasons: the big watery eyes, and the nature of the killing process which involves clubbing. Watson has the seals and whales and other species all in the same category of man’s inhumanity to nature. However, the seal populations are actually doing ok. Whales, not so much.
Seal activists are an endangered species too if you speak to the cigarette smoking apes with clubs.
Paul Watson part 2 Monday morning April 7th/08. 9am AT. Stay tuned. Also on Monday morning, investigative journalist Daphane Bramham who goes inside the cult Mormon world of child-bride polygamy. “The Secret Lives Of Saints: Child Brides and Lost Boys in a polygamous Mormon Sect.”
April 6th, 2008 at 5:47 am
those seal hunters are licenced to hunt seals by the government , any issues should be taken up with canadian government and not with the sealers,the Rcmp should arrest and charge anyone trying to interfear .If you don’t like something you follow legal routes to have the law changed ,not take the law into your own hands ! when the sealing harvest is going on it should be against the law for any one to be there that is not directly involved with the hunt !
April 6th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
How many people do you know that have something derived from seals? That’s my question. I mean for all this fuss and conflict I don’t see a huge market at least around here for seal derived products, if there was then maybe people wouldn’t have such a problem with it. It does seem like they are just killing them for something to do on the off season sure they make a little money of it and they are killing the predators of the fish they catch. The thing is though before we came around the fish and seal populations were fine it’s not the seals that are killing all the fish it’s us. We need way stricter regulations to stop our parasitic tendencies with everything we touch. We go to a forest and cut down everything and leave a tangled mass of brush and tree stumps then move on to the next patch of forest. It’s the same with the fish we go to an area and fish it until there is nothing left and then try to eliminate whatever else is in the natural food chain that competes with us for our food. Seal hunting should be regulated more like deer hunting you get a license to go out and kill a half a dozen for recreation or food or clothing or whatever. Not go kill as many as you can which seems to occur so often out in the water. It seems to be mainly based around time limits with a few exceptions rather than putting a more precise quantitative restriction to effectively control over harvesting.
April 10th, 2008 at 6:01 am
Paul Watson doesn’t like people. He’d choose animals as neighbours over US. YOu look at things from his point of view and all humans are good for is ruining the planet. Worst of all he thinks what he’s doing with The Sea Shepard Society is actually helping his cause. It’s pityful that he can’t allow someone more likeable or at least more human to be the l;ead in such a crusade. When he said that statement he back-peddled on a bit, it was his REAL feelings, I’m sure. He’s sell out the human race to go back to the dawn of time.
What an ignorant bastard!
April 12th, 2008 at 11:12 am
waton and his group have continued to milk this cash cow for years. every time he goes on shows like yours and spouts his mistruths, the money flows in. dumb, bleeding hearts listen and believe his every word. then the money flows. on your show he mentioned the killing of baby seals, a number of times, even though baby seals haven’t been killed for 20 years. maybe you were not aware of this and that is why yhere was no rebuke.
maybe they should open a season on protestorssince they are more nuisance than the seals
April 13th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
It is time to end the hunt now the hunter don’t make any money
that a real person would make in a real job.
I do not feel sorry for those hunters that died and I hope more follows.
It is the fisher men that are depleating our ocens of everything and it is time for all the dead wood fisher mens give there lazy heads a shake.
I don’t feel sorry for them or thier familys.
Every one for gets they are the one that are depleating the ocens of everything.
So wake up and smell the coffee and give your fat heads a shake
April 21st, 2008 at 7:32 am
The question here really is…..
Lets say they do get rid of the seal hunt….what in gods name is Paul Watson going to do next? If there was no seal hunt to protest..then what? If you ask me…the biggest reason why they arent going to get rid of the seal hunt…is that they know that if they dont….Paul Watson will be there…and not ohh I dont know…say getting close to offshore oil platforms which are just oil spills waiting to happen…
Sad that one man can bring so much attention to something as trivial as seals..when there are so many other issues in this world that need adressed. Lets see Paul watson protesting the war in Iraq or Afghanistan….lets see him get too close to an American Destroyer or Aircraft Carrier…..see what happens to him then….?? He’d be in Guantanamo Bay…in a 6 X 6 cell.