Canadian governor eats seal heart raw to support hunters
15:53, 27 May 2009
BEIJING. May 27. KAZINFORM. Canada's Governor General Michalle Jean cut out the heart of a seal and ate it raw to show her support for the country's seal hunters; Kazinform refers to Xinhuanet.
Jean, the representative of Queen Elizabeth II as Canada's head of state, gutted the seal and swallowed a slice of the mammal's heart late Monday during an official Arctic trip. A EU vote earlier this month banned seal products on grounds that the seal hunt is cruel.
As she wiped the blood off her fingers with a tissue, Jean explained her support for Canada's traditional Inuit seal hunt and trade, which some fear will be devastated by a European ban on seal products.
Jean expressed dismay that people would call the traditional hunting practices inhumane; Kazinform cites Xinhuanet. See www.news.xinhuanet.com for full version.