AR-News: (CA) Sealing under fire

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

By JIM BROWN



Italian television reporter Cristina Stanesa kneels beside a harp seal pup 
Friday afternoon, on a giant ice-pan in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On the same 
pan of ice sealers clubbed and skinned seals that had passed the white-coat 
stage. The IFAW has brought 25 journalists from around the world to witness this 
year's annual hunt in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and mobilize public opinion 
against the cull.

CHARLOTTETOWN - From high above a snow-covered ice pan several feet thick and 
more than a mile wide, they appear as shadows against a vast white canvas. 
As the helicopter swoops lower the seals come into full view, some 
pure-white, others with mottled white and brown fur. 
It’s late Friday afternoon and the pilot finally finds a landing space where 
there is an abundance of seals and several sealers, armed with skinning knives 
and clubs or hakapiks. Nearby are the boats that dropped them off. 
In one of two helicopters flying from Charlottetown Airport that afternoon, 
are Italian television journalist Cristina Stanesa and cameraman Antonio 
Santillo. They are joined by a guide from the International Fund for Animal Welfare 
(IFAW), which has organized their visit and contracted the services of 
helicopter pilots. 
They sprint towards nearby sealers who are moving too fast to be easily 
overtaken. They pause at a mound of entrails, their faces taut as the gruesome 
images are captured on film for an audience of millions.



full story:

http://www.journalpioneer.com/MainPage.aspx?PageType=FullStory&PartialStory=No
&StoryID=12317 
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