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McCartney to protest Canada's seal hunt
Mar 1, 2006, 21:22 GMT
Toronto - Former Beatle Paul McCartney is to add his voice to protests against Canada's annual seal hunt, the Toronto Star reported Wednesday.
McCartney and his wife, Heather, both long time animal activists, will visit the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Thursday and Friday to observe harp seal pups before the annual hunt begins, the paper quoted the Humane Society of the United States as saying.
The society hopes the visit will focus an international spotlight on the practice as it tries to press the government to ban the hunt.
'They are taking a very strong stand against the commercial seal hunt and are going to be devoting their energies to making this a global issue,' said Rebecca Aldworth, a spokesperson for the group.
Canadian Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn said Canada is not going to terminate the annual practice, insisting it is the most regulated hunt in the world.
'I would encourage Mr. McCartney, when he comes here, to see the effect this is having on the economy and to realize this is sustaining people in their home communities,' he said.
Canada is one of the few countries to still permit hunting of the doe-eyed mammals following a celebrity-backed campaign in the 1970's which featured pictures of the cute furry animals being bludgeoned to death.
© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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