Hate mail after Sammy the seal shot by anglers

On 15 Sep, 08:51, wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:48:54 +0100, Old Codger





wrote:
Sammy the seal became a popular attraction with locals and visitors
and the shooting has generated an outcry in the community

Hate mail after Sammy the seal shot
CRAIG BROWN
A MAN who ordered the shooting of a seal he claimed was threatening
salmon in a Scottish river has been inundated with hate mail and spat
at in the street.

Sammy the seal made the headlines in February when Annan Fisheries
Board tried to have him removed from the river to protect prized
spring salmon.

But the attempts failed and last week the river's environment manager
Nick Chisholm called in a marksman to kill the seal and end the
"unnatural pressure" on the river's biodiversity.

His decision has caused fury among local residents and animal lovers
who described the shooting as "disgraceful".

Mr Chisholm said he had received more than 600 hate e-mails over the
past few days and that his office had been inundated with people
phoning to complain and abuse him, while one man had spat at him in
the street.

One angry message said: "The decision to kill Sammy the seal was
absolutely disgusting.

"If you had persevered you would have been able to get him in a humane
manner. The person who shot him deserves to be shot himself, then
he'll know what it was like.

"I hope you're ashamed of your behaviour and have trouble sleeping at
night."

Jamie Dyer, from the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary, who took part in
attempts to catch the grey seal, said its death was disgraceful: "It's
gutting news," he said.

"The public have every reason to be angry about this and there was no
reason for the seal to be shot. The seal was in the Solway for most of
the time.

"Based on his size he was probably eating no more than three fish a
day. He was part of the river's biodiversity."

But Mr Chisholm claims he had no choice. "We ran out of options," he
said. "We'd tried, as everyone is aware, numerous attempts to remove
the seal alive and scare him away. In the end we were left with no
option.

"Though the decision to shoot the seal was taken three weeks ago, it
took until last Thursday for it to be culled.

"We contracted a marksman in to do it. He was humanely put down. It
was a single head shot - instantaneous.

"The seal's body sank into very deep water, and probably won't be seen
again. Unfortunately, we couldn't recover its carcase."

The seal first appeared in the waters just before Christmas and had
become a popular attraction with locals and visitors alike.

Many had pledged to protect Sammy from any attempt to have him culled,
and the news of the shooting has resulted in a strong public reaction

Local resident Dave Thompson, 35, said people in the town were
saddened by Sammy's passing. "The locals grew to love Sammy, he was
such a character and showed no fear with humans," he said.

"I think it's outrageous that the fisheries people have shot him. What
a cruel way to treat such a beautiful creature." But despite the
criticism, Mr Chisholm insisted he had to think of the river's future
as a whole and not just one seal.

"I still hold to the line at the end of the day, the conservation
argument was heavily in favour of removing the seal. It would have
been far more preferable to remove it alive but we couldn't just keep
trying and failing. We had to make a decision at the end of the day.

"We made very serious efforts to catch it alive and it became a
hopeless situation."

Mr Chisholm said the salmon stocks the seal favoured were so
vulnerable that anglers had been banned from fishing for salmon and
that large amounts of money had been invested on restoring the
fishery.

This article:http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=680352006

Some years ago there was a similar situation in the River Leven.

The decision to shoot the seal was defeated by local animal welfare
people and under public pressure the seal was granted an honorary
fishing licence.

If anglers wish to pursue their fish killing activity they should
accept they have competition from natural predators.

Angus Macmillanwww.roots-of-blood.org.ukwww.killhunting.orgwww.con-servation.org.uk

All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed;
Second, it is violently opposed; and
Third, it is accepted as self-evident.
-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh for god sake stop crossposting this bloody crap, you tree huggers
should stop shoving this crap into newsgroups where no one wants to
read it,
hey if you wan't to care for animals and the environment that's fine
but stop forcing it on to everyone, no wonder everyone thinks you are
all friggin fruitcakes.

wrote in message
ups.com...
On 15 Sep, 08:51, wrote:
On Thu, 13 Sep 2007 14:48:54 +0100, Old Codger





wrote:
Sammy the seal became a popular attraction with locals and visitors
and the shooting has generated an outcry in the community

Hate mail after Sammy the seal shot
CRAIG BROWN
A MAN who ordered the shooting of a seal he claimed was threatening
salmon in a Scottish river has been inundated with hate mail and spat
at in the street.

Sammy the seal made the headlines in February when Annan Fisheries
Board tried to have him removed from the river to protect prized
spring salmon.

But the attempts failed and last week the river's environment manager
Nick Chisholm called in a marksman to kill the seal and end the
"unnatural pressure" on the river's biodiversity.

His decision has caused fury among local residents and animal lovers
who described the shooting as "disgraceful".

Mr Chisholm said he had received more than 600 hate e-mails over the
past few days and that his office had been inundated with people
phoning to complain and abuse him, while one man had spat at him in
the street.

One angry message said: "The decision to kill Sammy the seal was
absolutely disgusting.

"If you had persevered you would have been able to get him in a humane
manner. The person who shot him deserves to be shot himself, then
he'll know what it was like.

"I hope you're ashamed of your behaviour and have trouble sleeping at
night."

Jamie Dyer, from the Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary, who took part in
attempts to catch the grey seal, said its death was disgraceful: "It's
gutting news," he said.

"The public have every reason to be angry about this and there was no
reason for the seal to be shot. The seal was in the Solway for most of
the time.

"Based on his size he was probably eating no more than three fish a
day. He was part of the river's biodiversity."

But Mr Chisholm claims he had no choice. "We ran out of options," he
said. "We'd tried, as everyone is aware, numerous attempts to remove
the seal alive and scare him away. In the end we were left with no
option.

"Though the decision to shoot the seal was taken three weeks ago, it
took until last Thursday for it to be culled.

"We contracted a marksman in to do it. He was humanely put down. It
was a single head shot - instantaneous.

"The seal's body sank into very deep water, and probably won't be seen
again. Unfortunately, we couldn't recover its carcase."

The seal first appeared in the waters just before Christmas and had
become a popular attraction with locals and visitors alike.

Many had pledged to protect Sammy from any attempt to have him culled,
and the news of the shooting has resulted in a strong public reaction

Local resident Dave Thompson, 35, said people in the town were
saddened by Sammy's passing. "The locals grew to love Sammy, he was
such a character and showed no fear with humans," he said.

"I think it's outrageous that the fisheries people have shot him. What
a cruel way to treat such a beautiful creature." But despite the
criticism, Mr Chisholm insisted he had to think of the river's future
as a whole and not just one seal.

"I still hold to the line at the end of the day, the conservation
argument was heavily in favour of removing the seal. It would have
been far more preferable to remove it alive but we couldn't just keep
trying and failing. We had to make a decision at the end of the day.

"We made very serious efforts to catch it alive and it became a
hopeless situation."

Mr Chisholm said the salmon stocks the seal favoured were so
vulnerable that anglers had been banned from fishing for salmon and
that large amounts of money had been invested on restoring the
fishery.

This article:http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=680352006

Some years ago there was a similar situation in the River Leven.

The decision to shoot the seal was defeated by local animal welfare
people and under public pressure the seal was granted an honorary
fishing licence.

If anglers wish to pursue their fish killing activity they should
accept they have competition from natural predators.

Angus
Macmillanwww.roots-of-blood.org.ukwww.killhunting.orgwww.con-servation.org.u
k

All truth passes through three stages:
First, it is ridiculed;
Second, it is violently opposed; and
Third, it is accepted as self-evident.
-- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Oh for god sake stop crossposting this bloody crap, you tree huggers
should stop shoving this crap into newsgroups where no one wants to
read it,
hey if you wan't to care for animals and the environment that's fine
but stop forcing it on to everyone, no wonder everyone thinks you are
all friggin fruitcakes.

I concurr, open quarrying and similar activities causes far more
destrusction to wildlife, than fishing. concentrate on business that does
far more devestation to wildlife. Channel your convictions into corperate
situations, such as japanese trawlers that are destroying the ecosystem. Us
small time anglers are really not bothered by your week arguments. they pale
into significance compared to large scale business enterprise.
p.s. make sure you get your parents pemission before cross posting to these
groups!
lol matt