Bontvrij Nederland en België

His Excellency Mr. Hanno RUMPF,
Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia
to the Kingdoms of Belgium and the Netherlands
and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
and the Swiss Confederation
and Mission to the European Union

Excellency,

In your "welcome word" at the embassy's website, you tell us that Namibia has many facets: http://www.namibiaembassy.be. Yes indeed, this is true.

But, Excellency, apart from the glorious facets of your country, you omitted to mention one less lovely: the horrifying mass-slaughter of Cape Fur seals committed yearly by Namibia. On the first of July, 85 000 baby seal pups and a further 6000 bulls are killed in the annual cull. For the next 139 days, terrified pups will be rounded up, separated from their mothers and be violently beaten to death. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onkt6VuAhnw

Please note that we members of the International Community of Animal Defenders, are not pleased. We hereby strongly protest against this ruthless extermination of wildlife.

Your welcome words states: "Every year more and more tourists discover the breathtaking beauty of Namibia... (its) wildlife ...". Well, Excellency, be assured that from now on, we will make potential tourists and other persons discover the cruel truth about the seals that call on your coast.

And it is even worse: the Cape Fur Seal is listed on Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)! This means their survival is dependent on conservation. They have already a natural mortality rate of around 30% within the first few weeks of being born. As you represent the Namibian Mission to the European Union, we are sorry to say that we feel we must notify our MEPs of the Namibian breach of International Conventions and Rules.

Please transmit our urgent message to your Government, asking to reconsider its murderous policy towards the Cape Fur Seals.

We hope that the Namibian Government is aware of the harm it is doing to its reputation by beating to death these mammals?!

We also ask the Namibian Government to stop arresting and detaining journalists who attempt to film the cull - even using non-existent laws!

We thank you in advance and remain,

Yours faithfully,

[Jouw naam]
[Jouw mail]