Morrissey’s Seal-Killing Screed ‘Ignorant,’ Says Canadian Politician
After Morrissey declared Canada “fashionably dead” for supporting the killing of baby seals earlier this week, the target of his screed – the country’s Federal Fisheries Minster Gail Shea – has fired back via a spokesperson. She said that Morrissey‘s comments reveal a “total ignorance of the Canadian seal hunt,” according to the National Post.
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“This is clearly just another case of a millionaire celebrity, desperate for a hobby, shamelessly regurgitating misinformation and myths that fringe animal-rights groups have been pushing for years,” Shea’s spokesperson said in a statement. “In the future, I would urge Mr. Morrissey to consider the impact that his ignorant and inflammatory statements have on the livelihoods of thousands of hard-working men and women in rural communities.
“Anyone who takes a careful look at the seal hunt will see that it is humane, sustainable, and well-regulated,” the spokesperson said. “In fact, the process used in the seal hunt was designed by international veterinary experts, and is the most stringent of any wild animal hunt in the world.”
Earlier this week, Morrissey published a rant about Shea and her administration’s policies in regard to hunting seals and selling them for food. Describing the manner in which the seals are killed – with high-powered rifles, according to Moz – he asked if Shea would wish the same fate on herself. “Would it make her happy to be shot by a high-powered rifle?” he asked. “If she considers such butchery to be so ‘humane,’ why doesn’t she place herself amongst the tens of thousands of grey-coated harp seals that will be slaughtered within the next few weeks? She could then test the humane aspect of having her head blown off for herself. Only then could she be thought to speak with any authority on the subject.”
He considers Canadians to be “good people,” he wrote, but then went on to criticize their policies. “Internationally, Canada’s sorry image is due entirely to its seal slaughter – which is greedy and barbaric, and it is dismaying to witness such ignorance in 2014,” he wrote. The singer will be releasing a new album in July titled World Peace Is None of Your Business.