Lessons From Extinction: Can We Save Baby Seals From Being Clubbed To Death?

The Caribbean Monk Seal was the only known seal native to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The monk seal was also the only species of seal to go extinct directly due to human causes. It was officially declared extinct just a few years ago, on June 6, 2008, although the last recorded account of the species was at Serranilla Bank between Honduras and Jamaica in 1952, according to MSNBC. Their eventual demise was directly caused by human over hunting. In fact, when Columbus first sailed the ocean blue, the tiny peaceful seals were described as "sea wolves," and slaughtered for their meat. While this may seem barbaric and linked to less civilized eras of humankind, it seems that our society still has much to learn with regards to preserving the seal.

With the Winter Olympics front and center, new attention has been placed on Canada's annual seal slaughter.

The Humane Society Puts the Spotlight On the Canadian Seal Slaughter According to The Humane Society of the United States, the annual seal hunt or more specifically, seal slaughter, results in the killings of tens of thousands of baby seals for their skin. The seals are often a few weeks old when their skulls are smashed or they're shot at close range by hunters.

But unfortunately, it doesn't just happen in Canada. In fact, Brian wrote that clubbing baby seals is the hunt of choice for many a spineless fiend across the globe. Namibia's annual seal hunt last year had a target of clubbing 85,000 baby seals to death. It's heartbreaking and hard to read, but in fact, true.

How Can You Save Seals From Needless Clubbing? Last year, according to The Humane Society, Canadian fishermen killed over 70,000 baby harp seals, but this was far less than the government-set quota. Many sealers stayed home, due to a drastic decrease in the price of seal skins. The drops in prices were due to the European Union's new ban on all seal products. Let's ban these despicable products in the US. Write your congressman and tell them what you think about the clubbing of baby seals. You can also make a big difference by boycotting all Canadian seafood products until a ban on commercial seal hunting goes into effect. Take the pledge here. You can also donate to Harpseals.org and The Humane Society of the United States.