rebeccaaldworth

HSI is not campaigning against the Inuit subsistence seal hunt, which occurs in Canada's arctic. Notably, most bans on seal product trade that we have worked to achieve contain a clear exemption for products of traditional Inuit seal hunts (this is the case in the EU, Russia and Taiwan).

What we are trying to stop is the industrial scale, commercial slaughter of seal pups that occurs off Canada's east coast and is conducted almost entirely by non aboriginal commercial fishermen.

In the past, I have worked with organizations who put extensive resources into saving the Vancouver Island Marmot. And notably, I remember being questioned then about why we weren't working to save other species when there were others in greater jeopardy. It seems no matter what species you are trying to save, someone will argue you should be doing something else...

I support conservation efforts, but the campaign to stop the commercial seal slaughter is about more than conservation. Sure, there are good conservation reasons to stop the slaughter (and economic and worker safety ones, for that matter). But the reason why so many animal protection groups continue to try to stop the commercial seal hunt is because of the inherent cruelty involved.

Commercial sealing takes place in a very unique environment - far offshore, in the midst of the northwest Atlantic ocean. There, high winds and ocean swells, unstable and dangerous sea ice, and extreme low temperatures and visibility comprise the working environment for the sealers. As a result, the outcomes for seals that are shot and clubbed are often very poor. For this reason, veterinarians argue commercial sealing is inherently inhumane and needs to be stopped http://www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/Marine_policy_animal_welfare_seal_hunt_2012.pdf.

Trading in the products of whitecoats has been banned in Canada since 1987. However, whitecoats are newborn harp seals under about 12 days of age, with their white fur coat fully intact. As young as 12 days, whitecoats begin to shed their white fur and become known as "ragged jackets" until they reach about 20 days of age when their white fur is entirely shed. At this point, the pups are known as "beaters." Ragged jackets and beater seal pups are not protected in Canada. Thousands of ragged jackets are killed each year, and virtually all other seals killed are beaters less than three months old. http://www.hsi.org/world/canada/work/protect_seals/research/seal_pups_killed_young.html.

Truly, there is not a Canadian government scientist, politician or sealer who would deny this. They may choose to define seals older than 12 days old as "adult" seals, but we dont. For us, a seal under three months of age is still a baby.

Newfoundlanders agree - polling shows 72% want seals under three months of age protected from commercial hunting http://www.hsi.org/world/canada/news/releases/2011/05/newfoundland_poll_052611.html.

In fact, that is not what the study found, and the European Union's EFSA panel (which included the author of that study) found this interpretation of the study to be "scientifically incorrect" http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/610.pdf (page 57).

I cite the study in question extensively in showing that the seal hunt is inherently inhumane because it identified many serious welfare problems even though the study was conducted on board sealing vessels when sealers knew they were being observed and why. For example, seals that were shot or clubbed, impaled on metal hooks, dragged onto vessels, and were still conscious on board the boats.

In fact, seals are hunted primarily for their fur in Canada. As the prices for seal fur have crashed in Canada in the face of global market closures, the numbers of sealers participating in the hunt has also declined. Kill levels have dropped from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands of seals annually as a result. Unfortunately, the Newfoundland government continues to subsidize the killing so that skins can be stockpiled to meet a demand that may never exist http://www.hsi.org/world/canada/news/releases/2013/03/government_subsidy_sealing_industry_032713.html. It is for that reason alone that the hunt continues today, in my opinion.

Well then let me repeat - we show images of seals between 12 days and 12 weeks of age when we talk about the seal hunt. It is entirely legal in Canada to kill these seals (newborn harp seals are only protected until they begin to shed their white fur, at just 12 days of age) and 98% of the seals killed are less than 3 months old http://www.hsi.org/world/canada/work/protect_seals/research/seal_pups_killed_young.html.

In response to the question, "Why do sealers target young seals" the Canadian government states, "Young harp seals provide the most valuable pelts and market conditions are generally stronger for this type of pelt." http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/seal-phoque/faq2012-eng.htm#f

There is no deception here, there is no one in the Canadian government or sealing industry that would argue the fact that very young pups continue to be the targets of the seal hunt.