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Q & A SESSIONS:
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT THE CANADIAN SEAL HUNT |
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1) Wasn't this hunt stopped in the 70's? I thought that Brigitte Bardot and Greenpeace ended this years ago. What's up? A: Since the first protest in 1955, those who wished to stop the killing have filmed the horrors, published articles about it, obtained proclamations from the U.S. and foreign governments in opposition to the killing, proposed and facilitated alternative sources of income for seal killers, written countless letters to Canadian officials, and staged demonstrations around the world. The U.S. Congress introduced legislation in 1972 to ban the importation of commodities made from marine mammals, but it wasn't until a worldwide outcry led to European actions in the 1980's- the ban on the importation of baby seal pelts (whitecoats) in 1983, and the threat of a boycott of Canadian fish products in 1987- that the killing declined dramatically. But it never ended. The Canadian government and the sealing industry worked tirelessly to develop new markets to replace those eliminated by these actions; and the government required that seal killers wait until seal pups molted at about 2 weeks of age, when, according to the government, they become adults. An average of 60,000 seals were killed each year between 1984 and 1994. In 1995, the commercial hunt was resumed when a Newfoundlander named Brian Tobin became the Minister of Fisheries. This was two years after the cod fishery collapsed due to over-fishing. The fishermen blamed the seals for the decline of the cod and demanded a kill. Since 1994, the kill quota has risen each year. Markets were developed in Asia; and seal skins were sold in the seal killing nation, Norway, as well as in Denmark, Poland, Estonia, and Greece. The three year plan ending in 2005 was to kill almost one million seals. When the "struck and lost" seals are included, the total killed exceeds one million, making this the largest marine mammal slaughter in the world. Still the Newfoundlanders are not satisfied and are demanding that even more seals be killed. Some Newfoundland politicians have called for eradication. (see more details about the annual Canadian seal slaughter) 2) Where do the pelts go? Are any sold in Canada? What country buys the most pelts? A: Most of the pelts are first purchased by processors in Newfoundland. The main companies are Carino, based in South Dildo, Newfoundland, and Atlantic Marine Products, with its main plant in Catalina, Newfoundland. Carino is a subsidiary of a Norwegian company named Karl Rieber and Sons based in Bergen, Norway. Atlantic Marine Products is a subsidiary of the Barry Group, a major seafood processor and exporter in Atlantic Canada. After the pelts are processed, some are sold in Canada but most are imported into Norway. In 2004, other major importers were Greenland, Germany, China, Poland, Denmark, Hong Kong, Greece, France, Russia, and South Korea (in order from most to least number of pelts imported). In prior years, Ukraine, Estonia, and Japan also imported large numbers of pelts. The pelts are sold in Canada, Europe, Asia, and possibly other parts of the world, but they are not sold in the United States due to the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The Canadian government is currently developing plans to subvert this treasured environmental protection through such measures as appeals to the World Trade Organization and NAFTA boards. The slaughter of the seals is not by itself economically viable. The wholesale prices typically vary between CAN$30 and CAN$50 for the most perfect skins. Without government subsidies, including the work of the Coast Guard in carving paths through the ice for the sealing boats, the commercial seal "hunt" would not survive.(see more details about the seal skins and fur market).  3)
What happens to the meat of the seals after they are killed?A: Most of the meat is left to rot. Some if it is sold to fur farms and some is ground up into animal feed. A few thousand seal flippers are sold for human consumption in Newfoundland. There was also a growing demand for the seal penis bone in the Far East as some sort of remedy for impotence. The penis bones were typically taken from adult males. This market has been impacted by the commercialization of drugs like Viagra. 4) Why do they kill them with clubs? Why not use bullets? A: Most of the younger seals are killed with clubs or hakapiks in order to avoid damage to their pelts with a bullet hole. This would reduce the value of the pelt. Since
older seals are faster, more aggressive, and can swim, most are shot at
a distance with high powered rifles to limit their ability to escape.
Since sealers shoot for the head to avoid damage to the pelt, and this
is a difficult shot, many seals are only wounded
by the first gunshot. Sealers will often try to club a wounded seal, but
these wounded seals will head for the nearest open water where they often will simply
slip away under the ice and perish. 5) You guys (opposing the seal hunt) aren't against native peoples surving and subsisting off seals, are you? What gives? A: There are few indigenous peoples involved in the commercial seal "hunt", defined as the slaughter of seals for their pelts, which are sold for fur coats and accessories. Most of the sealers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence are residents of the Magdalen Islands of Quebec. These are French speaking people. Most of the sealers on the Newfoundland Front are descendents of British immigrants. The Inuit, or native Canadians, we (and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans of Canada) treat the same as the Caucasian sealers. On the other hand, we do not campaign for an end to the sealing by the Inuit who live a subsistence lifestyle. These individuals, by definition, do not export pelts. They kill only the seals they need to and use all the parts of the carcass. These Inuit live and hunt mostly in the arctic and primarily kill ringed seals. FOR MORE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE SEAL HUNT (asked by a Newfoundland college student) click here * Or, perhaps you have others? Feel free to send us one of your own and we'll try and get you a solid answer. |
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SEAL FACTS | THE ANNUAL SLAUGHTER | POLITICS, PROPAGANDA & CULTURE | ANALYSIS OF A HUNTER
THE OPPOSITION EFFORT | PRESS RELEASES & MEDIA ATTENTION | AN ECONOMIC EXAMINATION | ALTERNATIVES
STILL PHOTO ARCHIVES | VIDEO ARCHIVES
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