Namibian sealing

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2000:

WINDHOEK– – Starting
the largest annual slaughter of
marine mammals in the southern
hemisphere in mid-August, Namibian
fisheries minister Abraham
Iyambo barred photographers from
the beaches, but couldn’t keep the
M-Net TV show Carte Blanche
from broadcasting video on October
1 of sealers killing seals in flagrant
disregard of rules which were supposed
to minimize animal suffering.

In July, after the Atlantic
Canadian seal hunt ended with only
94,000 seals killed out of a quota of
285,000, Iyambo doubled the
Namibian seal pup quota from
30,000 to 60,000, and raised the
bull quota from 5,000 to 7,000.
The action looked like a
naked grab for market share––
although seal pelts and meat from
past Atlantic Canadian seal hunts
are still abundant in storage.
However, like Newfoundland fisheries
minister John Effords,
Iyambo claimed––without presenting
evidence––that the escalated
sealing was necessary to protect
depleted fish stocks.