The European Parliament convened on the morning of May 5th to make a great stride forward in the preservation of the Harp seal in Canada and Russia, which both still encourage the hunt. This legislation comes after over 40 years of pressure from the International Fund for Animal Welfare to ban seal products and seal hunting across the globe. Because Europe represents about 20% of the current seal product market, the industry will be injured, but the hunt will continue.
Seals are hunted for their pelts, which are sold internationally by companies such as Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Birger Christensen, New Vogue, and Vogue Furriers. The fats gleaned from a seal's pelt are used for some Omega-3 dietary supplements, and commonly sold as fish oil. Both of these products have been illegal in America since 1972. The recent European Union ban on seal products may be the nail in the coffin of the sealing industry.
The Humane Society and other animal rights activists believe the problem with the seal hunt is ethical, environmental, and economical:
Seals are relatively defenseless compared to a human being. The seal hunt is often referred to as murder or slaughter because the seals killed are generally newborns. A post-mortem survey done by the IFAW found about 95% of seals killed are babies less than 4 weeks old. These juveniles do not understand the danger posed by the fishermen, and actually seek out their eventual killers. To preserve the pelts of each seal, they are usually beat to death with a long club with a pointed end. Those who are knocked unconscious are then skinned alive. The IFAW report found that about 42% of seals suffer this fate. After the seal has been skinned, its carcass is left on the ice to rot and the hunters walk up to the next seal to repeat the process. Helicopters retrieve the pelts from each hunter and return them to their ship so that they can continue to set to their work. The window of the seal hunt is narrow, lasting only a few days at a time, but the hunters are efficient; Canada's 2008 spring seal hunt killed over 17,200 Harp seals in just 2 days. By the end of the year, 280,000 will be slain.
The seal hunt is most prominent in Canada, where fishermen out-of-season are employed to hunt these seals on specially appointed days. These "seal hunting holidays" were created by the Canadian government to capitalize on the demand for seal fur, and to stabilize the economy of coastal areas when seasonal fishermen are temporarily out of work. Millions in Canadian tax money are spent on preparation for these hunting phases and using the Canadian Coast Guard as guides. This government subsidization has been criticized by Canadian citizens and politicians.
Senator Mac Harb of Ottawa has been submitting private member bills (proposed legislation not affiliated with any Canadian political party) to ban the seal hunt. "Continuing to defend the commercial seal hunt is not the answer," said Senator Harb. "The government can’t go on burying its head in the sand and pretending everything is going to be okay. It is time to provide mechanisms to transition the few thousand individuals in sealing out of this declining industry and into jobs with more promising futures."
According to information published by the Canadian Government, the seal hunt brings in a total revenue of about $16 million dollars in revenues from the United States. Compared to the $3.3 billion generated by fishing exports, Canada has a lot to lose if Americans begin to boycott Canadian fish. Already, there has been protests at the popular American seafood restaurant Red Lobster, which uses almost exclusivity Canadian seafood. This boycott, endorsed by the Humane Society of the U.S., Animal Alliance of Canada, and Sea Shepard Conservation Society, aims to boycott all Canadian seafood until anti-sealing legislation is passed.
Sealing is performed by Canadian Fishermen in the fishing off season to make extra money. Fishing companies, such as The Barry Group, own seal pelt processing plants and supply chains. Many fisherman also believe that sealing allows fish to thrive, ensuring that when fishing season comes that there will be a healthy catch. This could be considered the most relevant statement from the fishing industry, as worldwide harp seal population is up to 9.5 million from their 1.5 million population in the 1970s. Anti-sealing advocates claim that seal activity is important to sustain the life of the sea flora on which many fish feed, and that culling seals actually reduces world-wide fish populations.
Advocates have recognized that the only way to eliminate the seal hunt is to make it commercially unappealing for the thousands of fishermen who take part in the activity each year. Beyond the recent EU ban on seal products, it will take more aggressive measures to ensure that the hunt is ended.
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