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http://antifursocietyinternational.org/n_seals/seals.htmlhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090724/sc_afp/turkeynamibiaenvironmentsealsNamibia seal slaughter goes ahead after failed deal
AFP/File - Seals are seen at Cape Cross seal reserve, some 430 kms west of Windhoek in 2000. An Australian-based . Fri Jul 24, 12:07 pm ET
ISTANBUL (AFP) - An Australian-based fur company has begun culling baby seals in Namibia after animal rights activists failed to pay on time the millions of dollars they pledged to buy the company out, the owner said Friday.
"Nothing came from these associations and we have begun the annual slaughter," Hatem Yavuz -- who has offices both in Sydney and Istanbul in his native Turkey -- told AFP.
Earlier this month, animal rights activists announced that they had launched a campaign to raise 14.2 million US dollars (9.9 million euros) to buy out Yavuz's company which buys the pelts.
Yavuz said that he had been ready to go along with the offer -- made by several associations, including Seal Alert South Africa and Humane Society International -- but said he now felt they had been dishonest.
"I told them 'You want to buy me out, buy me out'. Today, there is nothing on the table. They kept the money in their pocket," he said. The culling began "about a week ago," after a two-week delay, Yavuz added.
The annual commercial seal harvesting season in Namibia officially began on July 1 with a quota of 85,000 pups due to be clubbed to death and 6000 bulls to be shot on the country's coast.
In May this year, the European Union banned imports and exports of all seal products in their 27 member states, including transporting these products through the EU to other parts of the world.
Namibia : Seal Cull NOT Started, Hang-in There Baby Seals, Help Coming
News24 reports amongst 70 other media publications, that the, "Namibian seal hunt will go on ".
The National newspaper reported more in depth, "$14 million deal to end seal cull ".
It is the end of 6th Day in Africa, and still the seal cull has not started. No seal pups have been killed.
Namibian govt officials can tell the media what they like, but govt does not do the baby seal pup clubbing, business does, and the business of ending the seal cull, has not been concluded yet. Business will decide whether the seal cull starts or ends, not govt fisheries officials.
The Seal 'business' in Namibia is dead. World economic slump, bans in the US and EU, poor demand for luxury fur fashion goods, no fur buyers, surplus of unsold seal skins, a declining seal population - and a sealing industry that wants to sell-out for $14 million. Something the Namibian govt must now come to terms with, and now look at alternative economic solutions.
Clubbing cruelly these seal pups is senseless and idiotic, as Namibia's last fur buyer, still has 20 000 skins from the 23 000 he bought in 2008, and cannot even sell these, and has placed no orders for 2009.
Whilst Seal Alert-SA bangs on the back-door to end the cull and continues its efforts to publicly raise $14 million US dollars to buyout the industry, it has now asked the World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Humane Society International (HSI) to politely knock on the front-door of the Namibian Govt, and make it an offer nobody can refuse.
Since Namibia became independent in 1990, and revived the seal culling industry, issuing the rights and quotas to two sealing concession holders to club 930 000 seal pups cruelly to death. The sealing industry has cost govt lost revenue. Killing only 610 000 seal pups of their quota. Seal harvesting have only managed to fill 60 percent of their annual quota since 1990, causing govt to loose the 40 percent revenue it gets from each pup killed.
In 2008, govt lost even more, with seal harvesting yielding only 23 000 pups on an 85 000 pup quota.
Seal Alert-SA asks WSPA and HSI whom was at my meeting with the Prime Minister and Ministry of Fisheries in 2007, to come forward and immediately offer the Namibian government a deal, that it cannot legally refuse.
The front-door deal is. Offer to take over the sealing rights and annual quotas for this seal resource until rights end in 2019. Paying govt upfront for the full levies on each seal in the quota that govt derives its revenue from. Legislated at N$2 Namibian dollars (.25 US cents) a seal pup and N$6 Namibian dollars (.75 US cents) per bull for the full quota.
This would amount to N$170 000 Namibian dollars for the 85 000 pups and N$36 000 Namibian dollars for the 6000 bulls each season. These annual quota levies which amounts to $25 000 USD dollars per year, to be guaranteed until Sealing Rights end in 2019. In addition, as govt has repeatedly stated, that the cull is a necessity under the constitution as it creates jobs for the unskilled and unemployed 97 workers in the industry. To offer to re-train, re-skill and offer these seal-clubbers full time employment in their new position, year round as "Seal Protectors and Seal Colony Monitors", whose jobs would be to protect the seal colonies from disturbance from the sealing industry and increasing tourism. Whose jobs costing N$ 2 million Namibian dollars ($230 000 US dollars) a year, to be equally guarantied for ten years, until 2019.
Seal Alert-SA suggests WSPA offers the govt to put $2 million US dollars in a trust to guarantee govt levies on quota and the cover workers salaries for 10 years, until 2019, and match any and all benefits that the sealing industry offers its workers, if any. Seal Alert then through its supporters will assist WSPA and HSI to fund the annual levies and 'seal protectors' salaries, totaling $230 000 US dollars through online pledges and donations.
Its a $260 000 US dollars a year deal until 2019, which a surety of $2 million dollars sitting in a Namibian npo trust.
Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula shoved the Namibian Constitution Booklet repeatedly in my face, which he co-wrote, stating I must find a solution within the constitution. Well, PM this is it, "the constitution of Namibia allows for the sustainable utilization of the living natural resources (seals), slide 2, confirms your policy of either consumptive (culling) or non-consumptive" . The offer from either the back-door or front-door is in line with the constitution' s non-consumptive approach to seals. Nowhere does the constitution state govt must harvest or kill seals.
Can govt legally accept the 'front-door' offer ? Marine Resource Act of 2000, states, "The Minister whenever he is of the opinion that it is in the interest of the promotion, protection or utilization on a sustainable basis of a particular resource, at any time, suspend, cancel or ..... of such rights, quota or license".
Can Seal Alert-SA succeeded with the 'back-door' offer ? Marine Resources Act of 2000, states, "No right may be transferred to another person except with the approval of the Minister, but such approval may only be granted if the quota connected with the right is also transferred to the same person".
If the Namibian Sealing Industry cannot deliver on their offer of $14 million buyout to end sealing with the Minister's consent, I will have to look at extortion and attempted fraud charges.
Namibian sealing industry has sealing rights until 2019 to kill a million seal pups, their offer to Seal Alert is 14 Million US dollars in a buyout..
This would be in line with the policy of the department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism sign-board at the entrance to the Cape Cross Sealing colony, where it urges, "people to help protect the seal colony".
Fisheries officials comments that clubbing nursing seal pups is a necessity to manage the seal population to protect fisheries is non-nonsensical and once again idiotic. As the cull exempts breeding cows and all ages of fish eating seals, as no market exists for its skins or products. Equally, South Africa has proven nature more than effectively manages the seal population, which has seen no increase in its seal population after stopping its commercial cull in 1990.
Pups washing off rocks and drowning, jackals predation on mainland colonies, and shark predation at sea and around island seal colonies, together with several mass die-off incidents since 1994, is all nature's way of controlling the population without the need for human intervention.
As an already UN listed endangered species since 1977, with 23 former island colonies extinct. Govt should take the offer to protect and not club.
The non-consumptive solution.
Seal Alert urges all supporters to keep sending in pledges, and no donations please, this fight is a long way from being over.
For the Seals
Francois Hugo Seal Alert-SA
27-21-790 8774
http://sealalertsa.wordpress.com/
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