Sea Shepherd Conservation Society received an official letter from Namibian Ombudsman John Walters earlier today. On September 20, Mr. Walters told stakeholders attending the seal slaughter debate in Windhoek, Namibia that he would need up to a year to reach a conclusion and recommendation for the government as a result of the evidence presented during the meeting. In his official letter, Mr. Walters affirmed “I can under the circumstance not foresee that my report will be available before early 2012,” indeed confirming that next year's seal slaughter will proceed as planned. “At the stakeholders meeting it was conclusively proven that the seal slaughter is illegal, breaking both national and international laws regarding the treatment of these endangered marine mammals, said Sea Shepherd CEO Steve Roest. “If the brutal clubbing and torture continues in 2012, Sea Shepherd will return to campaign in Namibia and attempt to intervene against the illegal slaughter of the endangered Cape fur seal pups, protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II. Sea Shepherd will also mobilize all possible media resources to expose this outrageous crime against nature to the world. It is totally unacceptable that any government be allowed to ignore its own legislation, lie to its public and international partners, and break clearly defined international laws it has signed and agreed to abide by.” Sea Shepherd and stakeholder partners including Seal Alert South Africa, South African Seal Saving Initiative (SASSI), International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), and Seals of Nam, will be united in their continued attempts to fight for the seals of Namibia. Not only is the Cape fur seal listed and protected by CITES Appendix II, but Namibian legislation outlaws the repeated clubbing to death, torture, or harassment of any animals – including seals. Despite the law, Namibia still condones the largest mass slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. Sea Shepherd will not back down until this mass slaughter of defenseless beings comes to an end. ** For more Sea Shepherd information, check their website. BM
