British rocker and outspoken animal activist Morrissey criticized Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea for not calling a halt to the Canadian seal hunt.

In a post titled “This Sorrowful Canada,” which he published on the fan site True-To-You, Morrissey condemned the practice of the seal hunt, and was very critical of Shea for failing to put a stop to the nation’s annual seal slaughter.

“The annual East Coast seal hunt/kill started Monday – against a strong wave of trade and court challenges. Europe continues its ban on seal products,” wrote Morrissey. “The seal hunt in Canada is struggling to make a start this year due to almost no markets, and China especially is refusing to sell Canadian seal meat. Thank you, China!”

The singer said that “Gail Shea, the federal Fisheries Minister for Canada, says that baby seals are ‘killed humanely’, and explains how the baby seals are shot by high-powered rifles.” Morrissey questions whether the fisheries minister would still think that being shot is ‘humane’ if someone fired a rifle at her. “Is this a death that Gail Shea would wish for herself? Would it make her happy to be shot by a high-powered rifle?”

“If she considers such butchery to be so ‘humane’, why doesn’t she place herself amongst the tens of thousands of grey-coated harp seals that will be slaughtered within the next few weeks? She could then test the humane aspect of having her head blown off for herself. Only then could she be thought to speak with any authority on the subject,” he protests.

Although Morrissey opposes the seal hunt, and thinks that the Canadian government has absolutely no respect or compassion for animals, he does like most of the people that live in the country and does not consider them all bad. He does, however, think that Canada is giving itself a very bad image by continuing the hunt, and that people are not forming a strong enough opposition against the yearly slaughter of seals.

“Canada is a beautiful country, and the people of Canada are good people. But good people are often ineffectual. Internationally, Canada’s sorry image is due entirely to its seal slaughter – which is greedy and barbaric, and it is dismaying to witness such ignorance in 2014,” he wrote.

In 2006, Morrissey wrote another post on the same site explaining that he refused to tour and perform in Canada in protest of  the barbaric slaughter of over 325,000 baby seals. He also criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s reasoning that the slaughter is necessary because it provides jobs for local communities. “Construction of German gas chambers also provided work for someone — this is not a moral or sound reason for allowing suffering,” wrote Morrisey. Canada “placed itself alongside China as the cruelest and most self-serving nation,” he added.

“Sound reason tells us that only those of the thinnest intellect wear animal fur, and because the Canadian government are concerned with animals only economically, killing baby seals with lightning brutality is now Canada’s primary global image. Until this annual massacre is abolished, Canada itself is regrettably fashionably dead,” Morrissey concluded in his recent post. – Joan Reddy

This post originally appeared on Ecorazzi

Ecorazzi covers news and gossip on celebrities and notables in support of the environment and humanitarian causes. You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Stop me if you think that you’ve heard this one before: Is Los Angeles’ Staples Center going vegetarian for a Morrissey concert on March 1?

British alternative rocker, Morrissey—the outspoken vegan animal rights activist and former Smiths lead singer—is hoping to make history with his forthcoming concert appearance in Los Angeles this coming Friday. According to Morrissey’s representative, the Staples Center venue will only offer its guests vegetarian food items on the evening of Morrissey’s performance. The 20,000-person capacity concert and sports venue owned by AEG and promoter Goldenvoice (Coachella) has agreed to the mandate per Morrissey’s request for all of the food vendors to ban “flesh as food” for the evening. Additionally, all McDonald’s outlets in the facility will be non-operational during the evening.

But a spokesperson for the Staples Center told Reuters another story: “As of right now, there will be meat options for fans,” and the venue will reportedly include vegetarian options for Morrissey’s strict vegetarian fans.

According to a press release by Morrissey’s representative, the victory is particularly notable as the same request previously made by fellow British rocker and vegetarian, Sir Paul McCartney, was denied by the Staples Center. Morrissey was quoted as saying: “I don’t look upon it as a victory for me, but a victory for the animals.” But in some ways, it’s also a victory for Morrissey that he gets to perform at all. The singer has been plagues recently with a bleeding ulcer. He’s already had to cancel or reschedule many dates on the tour and has even suggested he may officially retire in 2014.

AEG and Goldenvoice will reportedly also donate a portion of all ticket sales to the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals); both Morrissey and McCartney have done promotional work for the organization.

The Smiths’ second album, Meat is Murder, released in 1985, is noted for its strong pro-vegetarian messaging; and countless vegans and vegetarians (this writer included) credit Morrissey as influencing their decision to adopt an animal-free diet and lifestyle.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: Man Alive!

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