Morrissey says the seal hunt is like the Holocaust

Statement from Morrissey

27 March 2006

Statement from Morrissey:

"We will not include any Canadian dates on our world tour to promote our new album. This is in protest against the barbaric slaughter of over 325,000 baby seals which is now underway.
I fully realise that the absence of any Morrissey concerts in Canada is unlikely to bring the Canadian economy to its knees, but it is our small protest against this horrific slaughter - which is the largest slaughter of marine animal species found anywhere on the planet.
The Canadian Prime Minister says the so-called "cull" is economically and environmentally justified, but this is untrue.
The seal population has looked after itself for thousand of years without human intervention, and, as the world knows, this slaughter is about one thing only: making money. The Canadian government will stream all of the pelts into the fashion industry and this is the reason why the baby seals are killed with spiked clubs that crush their skulls - any damage to their pelts is avoided. The Canadian Prime Minister also states that the slaughter is necessary because it provides jobs for local communities, but this is an ignorant reason for allowing such barbaric and cruel slaughter of beings that are denied life simply because somebody somewhere might want to wear their skin.
Construction of German gas chambers also provided work for someone - this is not a moral or sound reason for allowing suffering.
If you can, please boycott Canadian goods. It WILL make a difference. As things stand, Canada has placed itself alongside China as the cruelest and most self-serving nation."

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Excuse me Morrissey, but fuck you.

I'm sorry, I usually try to be more witty than that, but saying that profitting from the seal hunt is no different than "Construction of German gas chambers" is pure idocity and an attempt to create a sensationalist headline.

Yes, maybe I am biased since the seal hunt at the centre of all of this controversy takes place in Canada, but the outrage against it is simply insane.

I, for one, do not agree with hunting. Hell, I don't even like how they kill cattle for beef (though I still eat it... which, yes, does make me a hypocrite.) I would never hunt an animal and, quite frankly, the idea of hunting makes me quite sick.

But hunting is hunting.

Hunting deer, or moose, or quail, or seal... hunting is hunting.

And thousands of people around the world do it every year.

And it's not like it's complete lawlessness in the Canadian north. There isn't a constant orgy of baby seal killing running rampant through our country. I don't club some cute little white seals on the way to work in the morning.

Just like all hunting and fishing, the seal hunt is regulated. Is it right? I'm not sure. Do I agree with it? I'm not sure about that either. I just know that I'm sick of all of the commotion and celebrity attention it's drawing.

I don't see past their prime-entertainers and fringe pop culture personalities coming out and boycotting American goods because they hunt deer there, or British goods because they hunt pheasant.

And, FOR THE LAST TIME, the killing of white coat baby seals is illegal. Do some people still do it? Probably. But lots of people commit lots of crimes around the world, and I'm not boycotting the goods made by their countries.

And comparing Canada to China?
Yes... the seal hunt and Tiananmen Square are very similar.
I knew someone who visited China and saw nurses carrying garbage bags filled with dead female babies by the truckload out of a hospital.... yes, that IS equal to the seal hunt.

And, for your reference, this isn't the first time Morrissey has cancelled/delayed a Canadian tour, just the first time he's given a ridiculous excuse like this. He also rescheduled his 2002 Canadian tour twice before cancelling it (Source) and he only played one date in Canada in 2004 (Source) so snubbing Canada on tours is more like par for the course for Morrissey and not a political statement.

By the way, "a veterinarian study published in 2002 found that several hundred animals examined after they had been clubbed were, for the most part, efficiently and humanely killed."(Source)

Maybe the seal hunt is wrong and it needs to be stopped. Part of me agrees that it should be stopped. But comparing the seal hunt to gas chambers and human rights violations (when it would be much easier to compare the seal hunt to... I don't know... maybe HUNTING!?) has the same effect as blowing up an abortion clinic or suicide bombing an Israeli settlement to prove a point.


That's right, two can play your ridiculous "what you're doing is the same as anti-Semitism" game Morrissey.)