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l^rotection of our oceans' mammals. I feel the time has come to take 

 the simple, but necessary steps to protect from brutal death and ex- 

 tinction our seals, whales, walruses, porpoises, dolphins, sea otters, 

 manatees, polar bears, and so forth. 



The bill I have cosponsored would do that now, not tomorrow and 

 not following some commission's endless wrangling over this issue 

 until it is too late. It would simply stop the killing now and would do 

 so by three principal methods. 



(1) It would prohibit U.S. citizen from killing these mammals. 



(2) It would ban the import from other countries of skins or other 

 parts of these mammals, thereby removing the economic incentives 

 for other countries to contmue the killing. 



(3) It would direct our Government to initiate negotiations with 

 other countries for complete protection treaties for each of these 

 species of mammals. 



There has been some opposition voiced against this measure. There 

 are those who have seen fit to try to kill this bill or, in the alternative, 

 substitute a much weaker one in its place. Some conservation groups 

 oppose this legislation on the basis that one of man's rights and 

 duties is to manage his resources for either economic or recreational 

 benefits. 



Perhaps most of the opposition has centered around that section 

 of the bill concerning the North Pacific fur seal and the treaty under 

 which we now operate an annual seal kill of some 40,000 on our 

 Pribilof Islands. The State Department has taken the position that 

 we are party to a group conservation treaty and we should not in any 

 way jeopardize its aims. The fear is that cosignatories might resume 

 pelagic sealing resulting in tragic consequences to the North Pacific 

 fur seal population. However, Mr. Chairman, that would not result 

 from this legislation. For it calls upon our State Department to 

 negotiate a new treaty to provide complete protection for these seals 

 with the Soviet Union, Canada, and Japan. The State Department 

 is to pursue such a treaty until it is an actuality. The existing treaty 

 is to be renewed in 1976 to preclude pelagic sealing if we are not 

 able to successfully negotiate a new treaty by that time. 



Another argument holds that, if we stop the killing of the North 

 Pacific fur seal, the Aleut natives would be dispossessed of the only 

 occuaption they know, that is, killing seals. Mr. Chairman, this asser- 

 tion clouds the'issue. These Aleuts were brought to the Pribilof Islands 

 many years ago by the Russians. They were kept there under the 

 czars for the purpose of killing these seals. Since Ave purchased 

 Alaska we have kept them in the same status of indentured servants 

 to slaughter these seals. It is very much like pitying the poor dope 

 peddler because he is applying the only trade he knows. The world's 

 strongest and richest country could surely spend a little time devising 

 other ways for the Aleuts to make a decent living. 



Mr. Chairman, we do not need a commission to tell us that most 

 species of whales and/or polar bears are endangered. We do not need 

 additional bureaucrats to study the remaining numbers of manatees 

 and sea otters until such time that all we have left to study will be the 

 skeletal remains of an extinct species. Since we no longer need the food, 

 fiber, and oils from anv of these mammals, we should be ci\dlized 

 enough to end the killing of them now. I respectfully urge that the 



