Morrissey snubs Canada to protest against seal hunt

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey has joined those opposed to the seal hunt, saying he won't perform in Canada as aprotest.

"I fully realize that the absence of any Morrissey concerts in Canada is unlikely to bring the Canadian economy to its knees, but it is our small protest against this horrific slaughter," he said.

The British singer has just released his new single You Have Killed Me and is gearing up for a world tour to promote his new album Ringleader of the Tormentors.

Morrissey issued a statement on his website Monday condemning the annual hunt and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's defence of it.

"The Canadian Prime Minister says the so-called 'cull' is economically and environmentally justified, but this is untrue," the singer writes. "This slaughter is about one thing only: making money."

Morrissey also alleges that Harper "states 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," he said.

The 46-year-old singer concludes his message by calling for his fans to boycott Canadian goods, saying that Canada has "placed itself alongside China as the cruelest and most self-serving nation."

Harper hasdefended the hunt as humane and said that Canada has been targeted by "an international propaganda campaign" by opponents.

Morrissey is the latest entertainer to criticize the hunt. Earlier this year, former Beatle Paul McCartney and his wife Heather Mills McCartney visited Charlottetown to campaign against it and even appeared on CNN's Larry King Live to debateNewfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams.

Brigitte Bardot, who first criticized the seal hunt in the 1970s, returned to Canada last week to visit Ottawa and renew her protest.

Over the years, other celebrities have also joined in the protest, including Martin Sheen, Richard Dean Anderson, Mick Jagger and Pierce Brosnan.

The annual hunt began on Saturday.