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Costco's Sealgate - Mystery Deepens Surrounding Reasons for Removing Seal Oil Capsules |
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Written by D.L. McCracken
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Monday, 03 April 2006 |
Following the decision late last week by Costco Canada to remove seal oil capsules from their shelves, more questions are surfacing surrounding the reasons behind the giant retailer's decisive move which came at the height of the annual east coast seal hunt.
In a news release issued by Costco late Friday a company spokesperson confirmed seal oil capsules had been removed from their shelves but denied any connection or association with Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. In their own statement released also last Friday the Conservation Society wrote, "After discussions with Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, Costco's senior management team have decided to remove seal oil capsules from the shelves of their St. John's location" thus leading the public to the belief that the animal rights group had taken credit for Costco's decision.
Costco spokesperson Pierre Riel explained that the seal oil capsules were removed simply for business reasons and denied that Costco ever removed products based on political pressure.
The mystery deepens however as evidenced on Monday's edition of the hugely popular Newfoundland-based news/talk radio, The Voice of The Common Man (VOCM) and Openline with host, Randy Simms. According to the VOCM website, someone identifying themselves as an employee of Costco called the show and said that Costco is not associated with Paul Watson or the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in any way and therefore Watson and his fellow activists would not have any influence on Costco's decision to remove the seal oil capsules.
Quite the opposite appears to be the case. Captain Paul Watson himself in a statement on Sea Shepherd's website said the following last Friday, “I have been an executive member of Costco for over fifteen years and Sea Shepherd has utilized Costco to supply our ships on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts. We are happy that we can continue to do business with Costco and we are very happy that this despicable and vile product has been removed from Costco shelves. It is a product from an industry that has brought Canada nothing but shame and disgrace. Costco has made a decision that will benefit the seals and that will ultimately benefit Canada.”
With both Costco and Paul Watson standing firmly behind their contradictory statements surrounding the company's decision to abruptly remove the seal oil capsules, the people of Newfoundland/Labrador are speaking out in anger and disgust. Premier Danny Williams also reacted with surprise stating, “I find it incredible that an international company of Costco’s reputation would make such a serious decision without giving us the courtesy of hearing our views or those of the industry." |
