The Atlantic Canadian Seal Hunt
Saturday, March 04, 2006Hello Friends. I am stepping back from my typical blogging for a moment and posting something more formal. For those interested in hearing some factual information on the Canadian Seal Hunt, I have written a short (well, rather short) essay for you. Feel free to disagree. I will be back to my regular posting content again tomorrow.
The Atlantic Canadian Seal Hunt and Why Sir Paul is Wrong
Three types of seals are hunted in the Northwest Atlantic: harp seals, hooded seals, and grey seals. The season usually lasts from March through to May in the waters around the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. The seal hunt is a sustainable and viable industry in Atlantic Canada. Emotions aside, the following text provides factual information on the seal hunt. The information on the seal hunt debate is often rhetorical and difficult to sift through. The following short essay is provided to clarify misinformation.
(Source: Department of Fisheries and Oceans: www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca)
Arctic sea ice is melting and the world is under threat of a global shift in climate which can result in increased frequencies of severe weather, rise in sea level and even increased health related problems. The recent alarming rate of melting ice in the Arctic led people to question whether there would be a seal hunt this year at all given the fact that there were so few floes for the seals to birth on. One might wish the world would unite around this environmental crisis. But our environmental consciousness is awoken instead by famous celebrities who can make their personal beliefs known and influence the public by having access to international media outlets. In the meantime, the facts get pushed aside. There is no doubt that the Canadian seal hunt can and should be debated, but it should be done by those who share expertise and unbiased visions, which means among academics, officials and organizations, at conferences and in peer-reviewed journals and texts. But instead, the presence of Paul McCartney on an ice floe on one day in March may have forever changed the face of the seal hunting community in Canada.
A number of you expressed that you would be interested in knowing the facts of the Canadian seal hunt. When I teach this topic to undergraduate classes, I present both sides of the story and let the students make up their own minds. Last year, in a class of 52 students, only two concluded that the seal hunt was inherently wrong. This in a class comprised of environmentally conscious and aware students. Almost all of them were Canadian, however, so perhaps we can not have an unbiased view. This post is long. Bear with me...
The fact of the matter is that every animal that is killed for human consumption is slaughtered in some way. Chicken coops, cattle slaughterhouses, fishing boats…these are not pretty things to see, but they tend not to be under the glare of cameras hovering above. And, as the Premiere of Newfoundland said on Larry King last night, the seals are killed on gleaming white snow, making the blood shed look so much more dramatic; put a white sheet down on the floor of a chicken slaughterhouse and see what that looks like. My point here is that to campaign against the seal hunt means that there should also be a campaign against the cattle industry, the fishing industry, and meat farms the world over.
The imagery and propaganda that is put forward by the deep ecology movements are based on emotions rather than fact, including: images of the white coated seals, which are not killed. The seals cannot be harvested when they are in breeding or birthing grounds. Only weaned, self-reliant seals are hunted after they have been left by their mothers. The majority (90%) of seals are shot from a distance. Some are killed with a hakapik, which has been documented (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, 2002) to kill the animal quickly and humanely. “Hunting methods were studied by the Royal Commission on Sealing in Canada and they found that the clubbing of seals, when properly performed, is at least as humane as, and often more humane than, the killing methods used in commercial slaughterhouses, which are accepted by the majority of the public.” (Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2005).
The seal population is not endangered or threatened in any way. The harp seal population is abundant, with over five million in the Northwest Atlantic alone. The population has tripled since the 1970s. The Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans sets quotas at levels to ensure the abundance of the seal herds. Generally, the quotas are 3% of the total population. Many researchers and scientists view this as a sustainable quota and it is particularly humane in light of the fact that the seal population has grown so large that the seals are under threat of starvation. Just this past December, a massive number of seals washed ashore along the Northumberland Strait of Nova Scotia and they died a painfully slow death. No celebrity was there reporting the natural slaughter or the cruelty of Mother Nature.
There are economic incentives to maintain the industry, which personally do not play into the debate for most environmentalists who do not decry the hunt, including myself. But to present the facts, in 2004, there was a landed value of $16.5 million which provided a significant source of income to many families in the Maritime provinces, for those who may not have other work options, living in remote northern coastal communities. And the income is not based primarily on the seal furs. Seals are harvested for food, and seal oil (for Omega-3, which has been a component of heart medication and menstrual medication).
The seal hunt is tightly regulated and monitored by the Canadian Government. There is no scandal, there is nothing particularly different about this than any other form of animal slaughter. The Canadian seal hunt is an excuse for organizations to raise their profile and themselves to make money. Their intent may be good, but it is one that is partial and flawed. The persistent use of cute and cuddly images of furry white seals sensationalizes the actual facts; these seals are not killed. Are the images of hunters with a hakapik difficult to watch? Without a doubt. It’s difficult to watch anything being killed. The difference here is that this hunt is filmed, on the open ice; where are the cameras inside the beef slaughterhouses?...perhaps McCartney might like to take on the American cattle industry.
I would welcome your specific questions or comments on this topic.
References
1. Marine Mammal Regulations, Fisheries Act. SOR/93-56. The Canada Gazette, Part II, vol 127, no 4, 1993, 18 pp. (Sections 28, 29)
2. Daoust P-Y, Crook A, Bollinger T, Campbell K, and Wong J. Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada. Canadian Veterinary Journal 2002;43:687-694
3. Sjare B, Stenson GB. Estimating struck and loss rates for harp seals (Pagophilus groenlandicus) in the Northwest Atlantic. Marine Mammal Science 2002;18:710-720
4. Hammill MO, Stenson GB. Harvest simulations for 2003-2006 harp seal management plan. Canadian Science Advisory Research Document 2003/068:Fisheries and Oceans Canada http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/csas/Csas/publications/ResDocs-DocRech/2003/2003_068_e.htm 5. Independent Veterinarians’ Working Group. Improving Humane Practice in the Canadian Harp Seal Hunt. August 2005, http://www.ivwg.org/
6. Department of Fisheries and Oceans “Atlantic Canada Seal Hunt Myths and Realities” http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/media/infomedia/2005/im01_e.htm
This entry was posted on Saturday, March 04, 2006 at 7:51 PM.
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8:46 PM
Cathy, thanks so much for posting such an informative piece. As i mentioned, i am ignorant when it comes to the hunting of seals. At least now i have information to make an informed choice :)