SEAL CULLING

Early day motion 1184, tabled 27 November 2000 by Lord Stratford (Labour). Signed by 10 members.

That this House utterly rejects the offensive demand from Mr David Sheil, Chairman of the Anglo-Scottish Fishermen's Federation to cull Britain's seal population; believes Mr Sheil's reported comments that seals are 'just helping themselves' and that they are 'pests' reveals a profound ignorance of the reasons for the decline in fish stocks which is entirely due to the grotesque overfishing by commercial fleets and fishing communities who venal, purblind and greedy activities have together destroyed fish stocks and, in turn, their own livelihoods; further believes that the culling of seals would be a disgraceful surrender to greed and stupidity; and calls upon Her Majesty's Government to reject such calls and impose a total ban on cod fishing in British waters until stocks are once again replenished and in balance as nature determined before the intervention of modern fishing methods.

Signatures by party: Labour 9, Liberal Democrat 1.