'The quota this year has been set for 85 000 baby seals that are still nursing from their mothers' teats. These are beaten to death with pick handles so that their fur pelts may be sold for US $7.00 A further 6 000 adult bull seals will be shot at point blank range so that their penises can be used to make an ineffective aphrodisiac,' said Pat Dickens, co-ordinator of Sea Shepherd South Africa, at a protest against seal clubbing in Namibia held at the V&A Waterfront recently.

Oceans cover 70% of the Earth's surface, yet less than 1% of these critical systems are under any form of legal protection. The Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) third edition of Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) indicates that the world's marine ecosystems are in peril.

Anna Breytenbach is one of our country's foremost animal communicators and a teacher in animal communication. She went to Kommetjie during the whale beachings and listened to what they had to say.