Two Sea Shepherd mariners, Captain Alexander Cornelissen and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt, of the vessel Farley Mowat pleaded NOT GUILTY today in Nova Scotia to charges of coming to close to Seal hunters without a proper Seal-Hunt observation license. The supposed infraction happened on March 30 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A gang of seal clubbers claimed that the Sea Shepherd vessel Farley Mowat got within 900 meters of them on the ice near Cape Breton. Sea Shepherd contends that Farley Mowat is a Dutch-registered ship and not subject to Canadian regulations that attempt to hide the bloody massacre of Seals from the rest of the world. Sea Shepherd also contends that the ship was not within the 900-meter limit and was in fact in international waters. If found guilty the two mariners are subject to obscene fines of up to US$98,680 and a year in jail.

The Canadian Coast Guard continues to hold the Farley Mowat hostage. The failing and heavily subsidized Canadian Seal Clubbing industry sells pelts mostly to Norway, Russia, and China. Seal products are banned in civilized countries.

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In related news, hundreds of civilized people protested outside the European Union headquarters in Brussels yesterday. They were demanding that the entire 27-nation EU impose a continent-wide ban on Seal products from Canada and elsewhere.

Civilized People
[source]

Eh?

--El Tiburon

technorati tags: Seals, Canada, Nova Scotia, Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat, Belgium, EU, Brussels, fur, Nprway, Russia, China, Seal Clubbing