Please help stop Scottish Seal Cull

Please help stop Scottish Seal Cull

I was up in Oban on Monday and had a bit of time to look out over the waters of Oban Bay. I watched a shag, the cormorant's cousin, stitching the sea and the air together, leaving a fine trail of bubbles for me to guess better where it would surface. Later, I caught a couple of glimpses of a harbour seal twisting its head here and there, before an outgoing ferry made it disappear for good.

This is an appeal to write a letter or e-mail to our MSP sent out by wildlife expert and diver extraordinaire (my description, not his), David Ainsley:

Dear All,

         Scottish Government have licensed the unnecessary killing of 1300 seals mainly by salmon farmers. Shooting of mother seals is also allowed during the breeding season which will have the effect of leaving orphaned seals to starve.

         Ironically, this cull is the result of the Marine (Scotland) Act  2010, the act that is supposed to protect our wildlife and whose guidelines state that seal shooting should be "a last resort".

         Why are salmon farmers shooting seals? Seals are intelligent animals and if they get the opportunity and there is only one net between them and the salmon they will push against that net and take lumps out of the salmon.

         Why is it  unnecessary to shoot seals? Because properly designed, installed and maintained, double netted cages keep seals and salmon separated. To avoid drowning seals, otters, porpoise and birds, the outer nets must be of the same material and mesh size as the inner nets

         Why does the industry not use double nets? Because it is cheaper to use single nets and bullets. But the industry is expanding, profitable and can afford to install these double nets.

        The government guidelines say that shooting should be "a last resort", meaning that the farms must have tried the most effective non-lethal method (i.e. double nets) before they are granted a licence to shoot seals. But 80% of the salmon farms which have been granted licenses do not have double nets. We do not know why the government has failed to follow its own guidelines but we must act to try to get these licenses rescinded and the cull stopped.

       What can we do?
1. If you live in Scotland email your MSPs (you can find them by clicking on this link) http://www.writetothem.com/  Ask them to bring pressure on the government to rescind these licenses. Also please ask them to support the early day motion put forward by MSP Robin Harper http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/businessBulletin/bb-11/bb-03-01f.htm . I have put a suggested text for an email below, please copy that or use your own words.
2. Refuse to buy farmed salmon until the industry undertakes to stop killing seals. Tell the supermarkets why you will not buy farmed salmon.
3. Please forward this to all your friends who may be interested.

         This is a simple problem with a simple solution which will not damage the industry but will protect our wildlife and will create jobs in eco-tourism. Double nets also prevent escapes from the farms thereby protecting wild salmon.

 

Suggested Text for email to MSP

Dear..................

I am very concerned about the unnecessary killing of seals mainly by salmon farmers. Licenses have been issued to shoot 1300 seals, in addition to this number, seal pups will also starve to death as shooting is allowed in the breeding season. 80% of the farms which have been licensed to shoot seals do not have double nets and are therefore not following the Marine Act guidelines of only shooting seals as "a last resort". Please ask the government to rescind licenses to farms which do not have double nets. Double nets would keep seals and salmon separated , stop farmed salmon escaping and save many seals which are an iconic Scottish species and are important to the tourism industry. 

Please support early day motion *S3M-8027 Robin Harper:Seal Culls.

Yours sincerely
(your signature, address etc)