Canada’s Governor General, Michaelle Jean, used a very unconventional method to show her support for Canada’s seal hunters.
While attending an Inuit community festival in the country’s province of Nunavut, she decided to show her support by munching her way through a raw seal heart. Reports say she sliced open a freshly slaughtered seal and then asked the woman next to her if she could try the heart. Jean then proceeded to cut through the seal’s flesh, slice off a piece of its heart, and eat it. After swallowing it whole, she said she found it delicious.
The Governor General’s act was perhaps as controversial as the annual seal hunt she seeks to defend. The EU is pretty much set to ban Canadian seal products because it deems the seal hunt cruel and inhumane. Animal rights groups are finally going to see their efforts bear fruit with the ban, set to be signed on the 25th of this month.
Without engaging in the debate of whether the yearly hunt should be permitted or not, exactly what was the Governor General trying to do when she ate a raw seal heart?
A spokeswoman for the EU declined to comment, saying the act was just too “bizarre” to talk about. Anti-seal hunt activist, Barbara Slee, said she was disgusted by Jean’s actions.
Surely, the Governor General could have chosen another way to demonstrate her unity with Canadian hunters? Joining them in a protest would have been a more acceptable way. Another option could have been lobbying for the hunt and talking about it to garner some public support. If nothing else, a group hug would have sufficed perhaps?
Then again, none of those measures would have been as dramatic and attention-grabbing as the one she chose. This is despite the fact that the ban proposed by the EU exempts Inuit hunters. They can carry out their traditional hunting activities and are barred from only large-scale trading of seal skins and products in Europe.
By ripping open a dead seal and chewing on its raw heart, the Governor General may have proved that she’s certainly not squeamish and will do whatever it takes to get her message across. However, perhaps she should have thought about exactly what that message was. Since Inuit hunters are protected under the proposed ban, the whole thing was pretty unnecessary.
Was she trying to show the EU what Canada thinks about its proposed ban? Or was she trying to win public support by demonstrating how Inuit people prefer their meals?
If she was trying to raise concern about the hunt, she may have managed to do that. If she was trying to get public opinion on her side though, she may have actually managed to push it in the other direction.
While attending an Inuit community festival in the country’s province of Nunavut, she decided to show her support by munching her way through a raw seal heart. Reports say she sliced open a freshly slaughtered seal and then asked the woman next to her if she could try the heart. Jean then proceeded to cut through the seal’s flesh, slice off a piece of its heart, and eat it. After swallowing it whole, she said she found it delicious.
The Governor General’s act was perhaps as controversial as the annual seal hunt she seeks to defend. The EU is pretty much set to ban Canadian seal products because it deems the seal hunt cruel and inhumane. Animal rights groups are finally going to see their efforts bear fruit with the ban, set to be signed on the 25th of this month.
Without engaging in the debate of whether the yearly hunt should be permitted or not, exactly what was the Governor General trying to do when she ate a raw seal heart?
A spokeswoman for the EU declined to comment, saying the act was just too “bizarre” to talk about. Anti-seal hunt activist, Barbara Slee, said she was disgusted by Jean’s actions.
Surely, the Governor General could have chosen another way to demonstrate her unity with Canadian hunters? Joining them in a protest would have been a more acceptable way. Another option could have been lobbying for the hunt and talking about it to garner some public support. If nothing else, a group hug would have sufficed perhaps?
Then again, none of those measures would have been as dramatic and attention-grabbing as the one she chose. This is despite the fact that the ban proposed by the EU exempts Inuit hunters. They can carry out their traditional hunting activities and are barred from only large-scale trading of seal skins and products in Europe.
By ripping open a dead seal and chewing on its raw heart, the Governor General may have proved that she’s certainly not squeamish and will do whatever it takes to get her message across. However, perhaps she should have thought about exactly what that message was. Since Inuit hunters are protected under the proposed ban, the whole thing was pretty unnecessary.
Was she trying to show the EU what Canada thinks about its proposed ban? Or was she trying to win public support by demonstrating how Inuit people prefer their meals?
If she was trying to raise concern about the hunt, she may have managed to do that. If she was trying to get public opinion on her side though, she may have actually managed to push it in the other direction.
Most people will not find eating a raw seal heart appealing, and hence may think of the seal hunt in equal, if not worse, terms.
For more info and pictures visit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8069249.stm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/26/canadian-governor-general_n_207844.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/26/canadian-governor-general_n_207844.html
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