Ex-Beatle has 'long and winding road' to stop seal hunt: minister
Federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn is warning pop singer Paul McCartney that he has no sway over the Canadian government when it comes to stopping the seal hunt.
"Let me make it clear," Hearn said Friday when asked about the former Beatle's pressure campaign. "If Paul McCartney thinks he's going to stop the seal hunt, ahead of him there's a long and winding road."
Hearn is Newfoundland and Labrador's federal cabinet representative as well as the Conservative minister in charge of federal fisheries policy.
- INDEPTH: The Atlantic Seal Hunt
McCartney, who along with his wife Heather visited seal pups in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Thursday, has joined a tradition of international celebrities seeking to bring pressure on the Canadian and Atlantic provincial governments to stop the centuries-old hunt.
The singer is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene to halt the practice.
- RELATED STORY: Harp seal hunt a 'stain' on Canada, McCartney says
- FROM CBC PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: Visit villages first, not the ice: sealer
The hunting of whitecoats, or newborn harp seal pups whose fur has not yet turned grey, has been illegal since 1987. Older harp seals can be hunted, though, as early as two weeks after their birth.
Supporters of the hunt argue that it provides a living to families living near the sea and warn that seals will multiply rapidly and upset the Atlantic ecosystem if the hunt is stopped.
The federal government estimates the harp-seal population now stands at 5.9 million, up from two million in the 1970s.
Premier to trade jabs with McCartney
In another development, the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador will be on Larry King Live on Friday night to oppose McCartney's anti-seal-hunt views.
Danny Williams's appearance on the CNN talk show was to be taped in advance Friday afternoon.
Radio talk show host Randy Simms of VOCM says he hopes Williams will dispel many of the myths animal rights activists have been spreading. "Let's face it, if these seals look like lobsters, instead of one of those plush toys at a carnival, I get a feeling they wouldn't get as much attention," Simms said on CBC Newsworld. Earlier this week, Williams invited McCartney to meet with him to discuss the commercial hunt, but got no response.
- FROM MARCH 2, 2006: Williams seeks to meet McCartney on seals
It was not clear if the premier would get a chance to talk directly to the musician on King's show, even via a remote connection.
A CNN promotional blurb gave no specifics.
"Sir Paul McCartney and his wife speak out against something they call shocking, brutal and horrifying," it said. "What has them so upset? Tune in at 9 p.m. ET."
Williams said in a statement on Wednesday he was frustrated that celebrities "pass judgment on individuals who are participating in an industry that sustains their lives, puts food on their tables, and clothes on their children's backs."
The premier's Larry King Live appearance was to be taped in a CBC studio in St. John's on Friday afternoon.