Canadian seal hunt quota condemned by animal rights groups

Sunday 22nd March, 07:10 AM JST

OTTAWA —

Environmental groups on Saturday condemned Canada’s decision to boost its annual quota for seal hunting, warning that with an expected European ban on any seal products the increase makes little sense.

The Canadian government authorized Friday the hike in seal killing to 280,000 on the Atlantic seaboard, amounting to around a third of the number killed annually worldwide.

The figure is up 5,000 from a year earlier, and up 10,000 from 2007. The new quota is still 55,000 less than in 2006.

“This quota flies in the face of the best available science and common sense,” said Rebecca Aldworth, director of the Canadian branch of Humane Society International.

“The last time Canada allowed this many seals to be killed, the harp seal population was reduced by as much as two thirds within a decade,” she said in a statement.

“At a time when the Canadian government should be taking action to preserve harp seals, it instead seems determined to wipe them out.”

Canada is home to the world’s largest annual commercial seal hunt.

According to European animal rights group Equanimal, over 40% of the seals killed last year were still alive when they were skinned.

Equanimal has said it wants to pressure the European Parliament on the issue, as it is due to decide next month whether to impose a complete ban on seal products in the 27-member bloc.

The new quota for the “dangerous, dead-end industry” that is the seal hunt is “completely indefensible,” according to Sheryl Fink, senior researcher at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)

“It’s not supported by markets, it’s not supported by the DFO’s (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) own management plan, and it’s certainly not going to be supported by the majority of Canadians,” she said.

“There are no markets for seal products, and with a potential European-wide ban on the horizon, no signs that the economic outlook is going to improve anytime soon.”

Wire reports

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13 Comments

aintgottimetobl at 08:22 AM JST - 22nd March

Wheres the 'steve irwin' when you really need it ??
OssanAmerica at 09:41 AM JST - 22nd March

Sea Sheperd is afraid of Canada because the Canadians fight back and ram them. No joke.
SuperLib at 12:14 PM JST - 22nd March

Such a barbaric practice from our northern neighbors. Canadians should be embarrassed by this.
bebert at 12:28 PM JST - 22nd March

Gee, being skinned alive seems a far worse fate than getting hit with a harpoon and painlessly bleeding to death. I agree, where are the big bad eco-terrorists of Sea Sheperd?

warning that with an expected European ban on any seal products the increase makes little sense.

Yes, because wealthy Europeans never fly to New York City to go shopping, that's just common knowledge. "Wink-Wink!" Jesus, Liberals think everyone is as stupid as they are.
smithinjapan at 12:34 PM JST - 22nd March

SuperLib: "Such a barbaric practice from our northern neighbors. Canadians should be embarrassed by this."

Now THAT'S something I can agree with you on. It is barbaric, and I think you'll find 99% of Canadians against it.

Ossan: "Sea Sheperd is afraid of Canada because the Canadians fight back and ram them. No joke."

We know you're an adamant sider with Japan on the whaling issue, so I hope you're not trying to use this as some kind of political remark to further your own beliefs. Any Canadian that is against whaling I can pretty much guarantee is against this.

Anyway, the practice is disgusting, and I have no doubt it will be banned in the future. Unlike Japan, though, since everyone feels the need to bring up the whaling issue as a comparison, the government will eventually buckle to public pressure, which is huge, instead of everyone just kind of silently ignoring it.

That being said, put MORE pressure on them! I'm rather shocked they authorized a larger quota in the first place.
cleo at 01:08 PM JST - 22nd March

Gee, being skinned alive seems a far worse fate than getting hit with a harpoon and painlessly bleeding to death.

painlessly?

Gee, I'm sure you have personal experience of how painless it is to 'bleed to death' as you drown in your own blood, with an exploded harpoon in your gut. If not, you may like to undergo a little personal experiment before putting your name to groundless and thoughtless statements.

From the HP of Lush Cosmetics, who are campaigning with SS against the seal slaughter (it surely doesn't merit the name 'hunt':

Sea Shepherd volunteers risk their safety and face the possibility of arrest to document and witness the killing of baby seals (illegal to do without the permission from the Canadian Government). They go directly onto the ice packs of Eastern Canada to document the cruelty of the seal hunt and expose the truth to the world. http://www.lushusa.com/shop/saveourseals/

The Canadian government knows the seal hunt is indefensible, and does all it can to keep it out of the public eye - if you see a sealer club a seal pup and you don't have a permit to witness the slaughter you can be arrested, jailed and fined up to $100,000 or sent to jail for a year. Looks like they think they have something to hide. http://www.canadiansealhunt.com/

The seal 'hunt' is every bit as unnecessary and unjustifiable as 'scientific research' whaling. Only cavemen wear fur. The Canadian government that supports this inhuman slaughter, and the thugs who think covering the ice with the blood of baby seals is a legitimate way to make a living, are as much an embarrassment to Canada as the Japanese government and the thugs they support are an embarrassment to Japan.
spudman at 01:21 PM JST - 22nd March

ossan you must be joking cause this is what Paul Watson cut his environmentalist action teeth on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Urd3wZRBjuI better than your videos by far.
bushlover at 02:20 PM JST - 22nd March

Canadians know not to give in to pressure from animal lovers.
bebert at 04:01 PM JST - 22nd March

The only narcotic the seal cub gets is a club to the head. I agree that this is not a reliable anesthetic. If the seal is killed by the blow or knocked unconscious, then I suppose it is an effective, yet primitive pain killer. Otherwise not. My guess is the guys with the clubs don't care one way or the other.
cleo at 04:27 PM JST - 22nd March

If the seal is killed by the blow or knocked unconscious....

That's an enormous big if.

A 2001 report by the IFAW found that out of a random sample of seal carcasses left on the ice,
In 13 (17%) of the 76 carcasses examined, there were no detectable lesions of the skull, leading to the conclusion that these seals had been skinned while conscious. An additional 19 (25%) seal carcasses exhibited minimal to moderate skull fractures indicative of “a decreased level of consciousness” but probably not unconsciousness. Combined, these figures are the source of the claim that up to 42% of the 76 seals examined may well have been skinned while conscious.

Video footage frm the same report showed that:

• 179 seals were observed hunted. Ninety-six of these were shot; 56 were shot or clubbed; 19 were clubbed or gaffed [Note: neither gaffs nor boat hooks are legal instruments for killing seals in Canada], and 8 were killed by unknown means.

• In 79% of cases, sealers did not check for a corneal reflex indicating that many of these seals potentially could have been skinned or hooked alive.

• Only 6% were bled immediately after being struck.

• 72 (40%) seals were shot or clubbed and left to suffer.

• At least 30 seals were hooked while still alive.

• At least 5 were bled alive.

• At least 4 were skinned alive.

http://www.ifaw.org/Publications/ProgramPublications/Seals/assetuploadfile43212084.pdf

Reading reports like this makes me wish I believed in Eternal Hell, because that's where these intrepid hunters deserve to end up.
smithinjapan at 06:18 PM JST - 22nd March

cleo: "Reading reports like this makes me wish I believed in Eternal Hell, because that's where these intrepid hunters deserve to end up."

Agreed.
Nessie at 11:30 PM JST - 22nd March

Considering the huge number of at least partially relevant posts that have been removed from this thread for being 'off topic', please can someone explain to me the relevance of Sea Shepherd volunteers wear Gortex?

On topic for the Gor, Cleo.
OssanAmerica at 06:33 AM JST - 23rd March

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUSWTzvzZA