Posted on 06/10/2004 3:25:57 AM PDT by Eurotwit
Norway's new Fisheries Minister wants to hunt more seals and market the hunt to tourists. Svein Ludvigsen thinks the country's controversial practice of clubbing baby seals over the head could be turned into an "exclusive" coastal experience for foreigners.
Fisheries Minister Svein Ludvigsen risks setting off another storm of critics after his remarks about Norway's seal hunt.
The minister's proposal, however, seems sure to spark the ire of environmentalists and animal rights activists who have long criticized Norway's seal hunt in line with its whaling and wolf hunt.
Ludvigsen is undeterred. Participating in a seal hunt along Norway's scenic coastline "should be sold as an exclusive experience for tourists," he says, claiming that there shouldn't be any difference between selling hunting licenses for moose or hunting licenses for seal.
"This could be a big hit," Ludvigsen told Fiskaren, a Norwegian newspaper that covers the fishing industry.
Ludvigsen believes it's important to reduce the seal population along Norway's coast "to restore balance." Norwegian fishermen currently have a quota of 1,200 seals a year, but interest in sealing is actually low and only about half of the quota is hunted.
"Sea mammals are a bigger consumer of fish than we humans," Ludvigsen said. "We're shirking responsibility if we adopt the views of Brigitte Bardot (a known animal rights activist). We need to hunt more seals."
It's not the first time Ludvigsen has sounded off at the risk of landing in deep water. His membership in the Freemasons and ties to the Mormon Church set off storms as soon as he was made part of the new non-socialist government just a few weeks ago, but Ludvigsen initially ignored the concern.
He later was pressured into quitting the Freemasons, says he is a member of the state church in Norway, and apologized for appearing insensitive to the public's concerns.
Hunters expect great interest from abroad for seal hunting, yet are worried that it may become an elitist pursuit reserved for the very wealthy. Norway's parliament, the Storting, has now cleared what many branded a ludicrous idea three years ago, Fishery Minister Svein Ludvigsen's proposal to make seal hunting a tourist attraction.
The resolution will allow foreigners to take part in a previously uniquely Norwegian activity, with certain reservations. In order to participate in the difficult hunt applicants must be qualified, and also need certified guides.
Seal hunters need to pass a shooting exam and also win a permit. Several thousand Norwegian hunters apply to take part in a hunt, but many never make it, since the chase is difficult and extremely dependent on wind and weather conditions.
There is a quota of 2,000 animals per year and this total is rarely reached.
Hunters believe that there will be great interest in the hunt, and the head of the Møre og Romsdal division of the Norwegian Hunter and Fisherman Association, Rolf Kollstrøm, said that he has received inquiries from Europe, primarily Germany.
"But it is important for us that access for Norwegian hunters does not worsen. We fear that this will become an exclusive hunt just for those with fat wallets, and that those who have hunted seal for generations will not be able to afford to participate," Kollstrøm said.
The law change comes as a result of seal hunting coming under the laws that apply to other blood sports, but also because the coastal seal population needs reduction.
The animals are accused of eating too much fish, damaging fish farming plants and for infecting fish with kveis, a small roundworm that makes fish inedible.
Just kidding...just kidding...
Save a seal.....
Club a liberal....
NeverGore :^)
This one kind of looks like the German ambassador to the UN.
At last! A vacation I can really enjoy!
Unfortunately, there is no use whatsoever for liberal harvesting. Actually, it's a negative value because they are toxic and -- like radioactive waste -- must be disposed of in a way that doesn't endanger future generations.
Maybe they are like white tailed deer here. Reduced natural predators so the population of seals explodes.
Except for the fish, I don't see how that is a huge problem...its not like they will eat your roses or run out in front of a car.
How do baby seals taste? Kind of like spotted owl?
Heardthat they were very tasty. (no kidding)
Not quite. A mounted and stuffed liberal can be quite tastefully used in interior decoration, for example, or as Christmas tree ornaments (just hang them there). Good taxidermy is not cheap, but there might be a business opportunity in it. Besides, just imagine how much money could be collected from hunting/trapping permits!
"This could be a big hit," Ludvigsen told Fiskaren, a Norwegian newspaper that covers the fishing industry.
I can easily envision a family vacation where the wife and kids could take in the scenery, take photos of Gods little creatures and then club the he!! out of them! But why stop there? How about field trips for schools? Senior citizens bookings. Church outings. etc . . .
sarcasm/off
And then we'll be treated to the Griswolds in "Scandinavian Vacation."
Or would that be "Nordic Vacation"?
You are going to have to stuff your Southern European attitudes back in your pocket. These guys live on a coastline that fronts the Arctic Ocean ~ might even call them "aborigines". They know very well what seals are for ~ eating!
You are going to have to stuff your Southern European attitudes back in your pocket. These guys live on a coastline that fronts the Arctic Ocean ~ might even call them "aborigines". They know very well what seals are for ~ eating!
Then run it like an industry, not a tourist draw. Not much sport in seal clubbing. I don't see the thrill for the African safari crowd.
BTW, did you know that meat doesn't initially come wrapped in clear plastic? No! Sometimes it's wrapped in untanned hides and walks around just like your pet dogs and cats.
I'll leave it to the Saami and Eskimos to best judge what to do with seals! People who don't care for how they manage the problem really should move back Souf', far Souf', and suck on sugar cane or something.
They used to say you could smell Bastesen from across the parliament canteen - he always wore his self-cured sealskin vest :)).
We could go and Club Norwegians, but they are really to oily and it would take way to many scalps to make a really good coat....
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