89 



Leonardo da Vinci is quoted as saying : "The time will come when 

 men such as I will look on the murder of animals as they now look 

 on the murder of men." This prediction was correct. That time has 

 arrived ; the great mass of Americans, now aware of the brutality being 

 inflicted upon innocent animals, have demanded that the laws of this 

 country reflect this new morality of the people. 



The animals belong to all the people and that they are loved by the 

 people was dramatically displayed just 3 weeks ago when 47 whales 

 beached themselves in Boca Grande, Fla. A swarm of teenagers came 

 to their rescue, lugged and coaxed them back into the waters, straddled 

 their backs and guided them to safety in the Gulf of Mexico. 



Simultaneously, in the Pacific, an American whaling fleet, its ac- 

 tivities licensed by Secretary of Commerce Stans, was, and is, engaged 

 in the horror of planting bombs in whales by the hundreds, exploding 

 them into cat meat. 



Three weeks ago, a fishery biologist for the National Marine Fish- 

 eries Service told the Associated Press that an estimated 200,000 

 porpoises die accidentally every year in the nets of American tuna 

 fishermen in the eastern tropical Pacific. May I note that 200,000 

 porpoise deaths is extremely high to be called "accidental" and say 

 that it is unconscionable that our Government permits the use of these 

 nets which are as much as i^-mile long and 300 feet deep. With the 

 passage of the Harris-Pryor bill this "accidental" slaughter of por- 

 poises will be eliminated. 



Four weeks ago a marine biologist for the Alaska Departinent of 

 Fish and Game told the Associated Press that the decomposing car- 

 casses of hundreds of walrus littering shores in northwest Alaska were 

 some of the animals lost during the spring hunt. He said that of the an- 

 nual slaughter of about 11,700 walrus, fully half are lost due in large 

 part to the method of himting. He said some hunters fire at random into 

 the herds. Wounded amimals sometimes escape but do not live long. 

 I append a Canadian reporter's account of these senseless massacres 

 of friendly, gentle walrus in the Bering Sea. The slaughter is done 

 almost entirely for the ivory tusks and must be stopped. 



Another news story of 3 weeks ago is a shocker which I don't believe 

 has appeared in U.S. papers. It was issued by the British agency, 

 Reuters, from Christchurch, New Zealand. I should like to read ver- 

 batim the account which appeared in the Montreal Star on August 23 : 



■U.S. scientists will study seals and their iwpulation and migration patterns 

 during the approaching research season in the Antarctic, according to the U.S. 

 research program. 



The study is aimed at eventual seal-hunting in the Antarctic as seal popula- 

 tions diminish elsewhere. D. B. Siniff of the University of Minnesota will con- 

 duct a study of the seals October 28-January 28. 



Investigations by Siniff and his assistants will include the use of radio telem- 

 etry and underwater televisian techniques at Hutton Cliffs, near McMuirdO 

 Station. 



Tracked vehicles with receiving equipment will be used to pinpoint the posi- 

 tion of seals which have radio transmitters attached to their flippers. Helicopters 

 will also be used for tracking seals. 



While it may be refreshing to hear an official admission that the 

 seal populations are decreasing, one must ask : Are animals nowhere 

 safe from the monstrous ministrations of man ? Will we shortly be told 

 that the purpose of this invasion of the Antarctic is to save the seals 

 from starvation and disease resulting from overcrowding — ^the same 



