Nightmare for Canadian Coast Guard: Seal Hunts and Rescues

The Canadian Coast Guard, in separate incidents, is now being blamed for four deaths and of harassing animal activists.

The l’ACADIEN II, a seal trawler, had suffered a broken rudder and was being towed back to port by the coast guard at approximately 1am on Saturday March 29th. The seas were filled with ice flows and, supposedly, the tow vessel, SIR WILLIAM ALEXANDER, sped from 2.5 knots to 4 knots, causing the trawler to begin to zigzag through large chunks of ice and scraping them. Reportedly, the trawler eventually hit an ice flow and capsized. At first, the coast guard did not notice and the boat was dragged through the water.

A sailor at the controls escaped and another man smashed through a porthole. Unfortunately, four others sleeping below did not make it out alive, and one of them is missing. There are claims by trawlers in the area that they radioed the ALEXANDER, first about the speed and, then, about the boat capsizing, but the coast guard vessel did not respond.

In a separate incident, the FARLEY MOWAT, the famous activist vessel owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, claims that the Coast Guard vessel DES GROSEILLIERS twice rammed its port stern after ignoring a warning not to approach sealers on the third day of the annual hunting event.

For their part, Canadian officials claim the events are untrue and that the activists are simply trying to provoke a confrontation. Additionally, officials claim the FARLEY is jeopardizing the safety and wellbeing of the sealers.

The activists have called the seal slaughter a cruel atrocity on the ice, and have characterized the ramming by the coast guard as "an unbelievable declaration of war on the seal defenders."