We have a visitor here in the Hudson Valley...and he's cute as hell. Marine rescue experts say he's a young Arctic harp seal, probably wandering south looking for some fish and a comfortable place to molt.
We're delighted to have him. People are lining up along the shore to watch him shove himself around the ice, roll around and generally act like a healthy, happy seal.
I'm working on a story on his visit today - I won't be interviewing him as it would be rude to impose on someone who might find a microphone in his muzzle a little stressful. But my co-worker sent me a link to a story from Ottawa that, frankly, made my stomach turn.
Seal hunting is apparently big business in Ottawa and politicians want to make it clear to the industry that they support them. So they're getting together for a lovely seal meat meal. Seal meat and its fat, the organizer admits, is awful. The only way to make it palatable is to wrap it in bacon or somehow add fat to it. But they are so dedicated to proving that they support killing seals that they'll figure out a way to choke it down.
Seal's On the Menu
And here I've been so envious of Canada, so impressed by its openness to diversity, it's honest character. Guess there's some major room for improvement.
I don't believe eating animals is defensible. I do not believe that cruelty to other creatures is excusable. And I sure as hell don't admire people who have lost their humanity to such an extent that they'll actually line up (it's a sold out event) to join in.
