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Namibia's stunning coastline
and unique wildlife attract over a half a million tourists every year.
But the following evidence shows why nearly half of those tourists wouldn't
visit Namibia
if they'd know what happened on its beaches.
Vast dunes, sun-drenched coastline and
diverse wildlife make for a tempting holiday retreat.
But this beautiful country is hiding an ugly secret.
During peak season
the Namibian government allows up to 85,000 seal pups to be brutally clubbed to death.
The government is considering an increase in quota's
which will make it the largest seal hunt in the world.
These are the seals the tourists flock from all over the world to watch.
Instead, they may be confronted with bloodstained sands where hours earlier
the clubbing took place.
The hunt happens on several beaches along the skeleton coast
including a seal reserve at Cape Cross.
At dawn between July and November culling teams confront the seals
with long handle clubs
to beat the pups to death.
A few hours later, the coastline is teeming with holidaymakers and seal watching boats
the tourists oblivious to the cruelty.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals wants to highlight this cruelty
and the damage the hunts could inflict on Namibia's tourist industry.
Whilst other groups are calling for damaging boycots that threaten Namibia's
tourism interests,
we believe in developing a future where seal watching and ecotourism
can steadily expand. We will demonstrate
through independent economic studies that a sustainable seal watching industry
has higher economic returns year-on-year than the cull could ever hope to achieve.
Seals should be seen, and not hurt.
The most telling evidence we found for a change in attitude to
seal culling
was from the tourists themselves. In March 2012
WSPA commissioned Imori opinion poll focusing on Namibia's top
international tourism markets: Germany, the UK, the USA and South Africa.
The poll revealed that less than five percent supported the hunt.
It was also revealed, across these four countries,
that almost half wouldn't go on holiday to Namibia because of the hunt.
And 54 percent wouldn't visit the seal watching tourist attraction
where the hunts are taking place.
The poll also found that only 50 percent were even aware that a seal hunt takes place.
Based on the results of this poll it seems clear
that as awareness of Namibia's ugly secret grows, tourist numbers will fall.
The Namibian government defends the hunt.
The government's say that the hunt is humane and well-regulated.
Well, what is supposed to happen in the seal hunt according to the Namibian law
is they are supposed to be hit accurately and then they are supposed to be killed.
And that's done with a knife which causes them to bleed out.
Then the animals are supposed to be checked to see that they're unconscious
by an inspector and I didn't see any sign of an inspector in the video you've shown me.
The problem is that these animals are moving around a great deal
and that makes it a very substantial risk that they won't be
knocked out by the blow and that there will be a significant amount of pain.
So the methodology is not good
It will very often not be a humane method of killing.
So according to experts opinion the seals actually suffer great pain, fear
and disturbance.
Another excuse for the hunts is that the seals eat all the fish
so must be hunted. The science underpinning this claim
has been widely dismissed as inaccurate by many scientists
and other fisheries experts. Huge growth in commercial fishing industries is the
real culprit for the depleted fish populations.
Marine food webs are extremely complex
and some scientists argue that by taking large numbers of top predators,
such as seals, out to the ecosystem will imbalance it.
Causing more problems for commercial fisheries.
Lastly, the government argues the seal hunt is highly profitable to Namibia.
An expert economic study commissioned by WSPA in 2011,
reveals that seal hunting is worth only around a quarter
of the value of seal watching to the Namibian economy. Our research showed
that the seal hunting industry is worth about half a million
US dollars a year to the Namibian economy, whereas the seal watching industry
is worth about two million dollars a year to the Namibian economy in growth terms.
The seal watching industry has a very strong
growth track, whereas the seal hunting industry is a lot more flat
and not likely to have that sort of growth track in the future.
The seal hunt is a dying industry. All EU member states
have banned trade in seal products, and this trend is expanding across other markets.
The returns on the hunt can only decrease over time.
The problems of cruelty and poor economic performance
is evidence that the situation is wrong.
Coupled with a potentially devastating impact on tourism, it is clear that a
change in policy is urgently needed.
The Namibian government
has expressed a willingness for open, constructive dialogue on this issue.
We have a unique opportunity to work together
to persuade the government and seal hunting before seal hunting
becomes a reason for people not to visit Namibia.