Seal killer and "national hero" Nikolai Hemmingsen brutally hooks a baby harp seal. Archive Photo: Sea Shepherd

The answer is complex and varies depending on the time of history being discussed. The exploitation and commercial slaughter of the harp seal is one of the most tragic stories ever known to mankind, and in particular, to people who care about animals and the environment. Before the advent of "modern technology" and hunting methods, the harp seal was hunted and used by native Canadians who lived in a traditional society. The adult seals were killed, their fur, meat, and bones were utilized in every conceivable fashion by the native peoples, and these animals were valued for contributing to their survival.

Live Harp seal baby- Photo: Sea Shepherd

Although the sustainable killing of harp, hooded, harbor and ringed seals by native peoples of northern latitudes for food and fur had indeed taken place for thousands of years, the most recent 300 years brought about a new reason for killing harp seals: commercial exploitation, and with that, the end to any shred of necessity for seal products or respect for the animals.

An incessant desire and greed for the profits to be made from the seals' pelts and blubber drove many men and businesses into a pathetic circle of death and despair for most involved. Sealing was an extremely dangerous business throughout history and many sealers lost their lives while pursuing their sealing livelihood.

In the beginning of the commercial hunt, only a few aristocratic families earned immense wealth and profits from the dangerous and bloody work and despair of the uneducated, average man trying to earn a living the only way he thought he could... from the slaughter of seals. In more recent years, the captains of sealing boats take in most of the revenues (typically 50%), leaving the sealing crew to split what remains. (See a brief history of the seal hunt on Canadian Geographic)

The "Seal Wars" of the past 3 decades changed the landscape of the once strong commercial market. Thanks to the hard work and creativity of a few hardcore activists and volunteers (click here to see who did what and when), the European ban on whitecoat pelt imports and the boycott of Canadian seafood in Britain (1983, 1987) had a dramatic impact on the number of seals killed and the commercial market as a whole.

In fact, in 1987, the Canadian seal pelt market was at a point near death (not commercially sustainable) until the government stepped in with their subsidies to bolster up the struggling business. (With hundreds of thousands of pelts stored and rotting in warehouses in Canada and Norway, there were simply not enough buyers for the pelts). In addition, since there never was a commercial demand for the meat, the few pounds of meat actually processed went to the pet food market, fur farms, and a few specialty sausage brands.

But the Canadian government was undeterred. The government worked hard and spent millions on developing new markets. They soon exploited a loophole in the European ban on whitecoat pelts by banning the killing of the less-than-14-day-old seals (whitecoats) and sending sealers out to kill seals once they started to molt. At this point, they become ragged jackets; and, once they finish molting (after a few weeks), they become "beaters." The markets for their pelts were bolstered.

Skinned Harp seal baby (meat not used) Photo: Sea Shepherd

THE HARSH REALITY OF THE KILL:
Today's modern seal "hunt" isn't really much of a hunt at all... In fact, depending on the condition of the ice flows, the sealers can have varying degrees of difficulty in getting to the seals. Methods include: walking from their trucks, driving up to them with their snowmobiles, taking commercial icebreaking boats to distant ice flows, then getting out of the boats and walking to them, or shooting seals from the larger ships or smaller boats.

Once they find the seals, the true horrific nature of this bizarre event unfolds. In the first phase of the hunt (in the Gulf of St. Lawrence), sealers typically approach the seals and then club them with 'hakapiks' (long sticks with a hooked blade at one end). After clubbing the seals, they are supposed to perform the 'blinking-eye' test, checking whether the seals blink, before skinning them. If the seal is not dead, sealers may dispatch the seal with a variety of methods, including kicking in the face and/ or continuing to beat the seal pups on the head with the hakapiks. The sealer may move on to other seals before skinning them or may skin them at that time. He may drag the seal to the boat with the hook end of the hakapik. If the sealer did not bother to check whether the seal was dead, the seal may conscious when the hooked blade is plunged into its mouth or head. An analysis by a panel of veterinarians showed that about 40% of the seals are actually skinned alive. In the second phase of the seal hunt, on the Front, in the waters off Newfoundland and Labrador, seals are more mobile and able to swim, so sealers typically shoot them from their boats. They aim for the head to avoid damaging the pelt. If they miss and wound the seal, they may get out of the boat and club the seal, unless the seal gets away into the water. In that case, the seal likely dies in the water and may never be recovered (or counted towards the quota). Sealers retrieve the seals with hooks, e.g., the hooked end of the hakapik, so if the seal was not killed by the bullet, it may be conscious when the hook is plunged into its mouth and it is dragged on the boat. 

Adults and resisting mothers are shot and/ or clubbed and skinned and in the case of males, may have their penis bones removed. (Typically the penis bones are harvested from adult males). If convenient to do so, some of the bodies are then recovered and processed into pet food or used to feed the animals in fur farms (though this is rare).

In 2008, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), set new standards for sealers to follow when killing seals. In addition to the blinking-eye test, the DFO now instructs sealers to palpate the seal's skull to assess whether it has been fatally crushed before proceeding to skin the seal. If the skull does not seem to have such a fatal wound, sealers are supposed to sever the main artery. In order to instruct sealers on the new standards, the Canadian Sealers Association sent individuals around Newfoundland with an instructional video a few weeks before the start of the hunt.

IF YOU HAVE THE STOMACH FOR IT, SEE THE STILL PHOTO ARCHIVES OF THE SEAL SLAUGHTER NOW
(Recommended for all)  

AND DON'T MISS THE VIDEO FOOTAGE. (It's reality)
  

To learn more about today's modern day sealers, see our "ANALYSIS OF A HUNTER" SECTION.

Slaughtered seals- Photo: IFAW

So why then do they do it?
What is the purpose and reason for the continued killing?   
The simple answer is "for the pelts"- but it isn't surprising for those who study such things that the full truth behind the reasons for the modern day harp seal slaughter are much more complex and sinister. A few words that come into play when attempting an explanation are: vanity, greed, political scapegoats, pride/stubbornness and bloodlust.

The basic travesty of making scapegoats of the seals is as follows: due to years of overfishing, inept DFO management of fisheries and ocean ecosystems, and unenforced regulations, Canada suffered a total collapse of the once bountiful cod fishery on their Eastern seaboard in the early 1990's. Canadian Atlantic Fisheries Collapse (Article & credit: Greenpeace website)
Over 40,000 people lost their jobs. The marine ecosystem is still in a state of collapse. This collapse of a once great industry had the much forewarned effect (by many scientists and activists who saw it coming for years) of putting great numbers of Eastern Canadian fisherman out of work and into financial hardship, looking for answers and alternatives.
Things were looking pretty bleak until a few clever Newfoundland politicians came up with an ingenious plan: they would use the harp seal herds as the official explanation for the collapse of the fish stocks and at the same time sell the idea of using the seals as an economic alternative to the cod. And so they started selling the propaganda of "the seals were eating all the cod" to the frustrated fisherman, (the sealers); and most bought it (excuse the pun), hook, line, and sinker.

It was at this time that the highest quotas in the history of the seal hunt (up until that time) were introduced to the eager out of work fishermen. For a better understanding of how and why this propaganda works, please see the POLITICS, PROPAGANDA & CULTURE section of this website.

A QUESTION TO PONDER

THE CANADIAN DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS POSES THIS INTRIGUING SCIENCE QUESTION: ARE SEALS FISH? (Click here for the fascinating answer.)

Although the exact amount of Cod that harp seals eat is a debatable issue, what is agreed by all credible scientists and biologists involved: the seals didn't cause the fishery collapse and the seals aren't going to keep it from coming back. Cod is only a small percentage of the harp seals' diet, yet they also consume predators of cod and are part of a complex food web.

Even though the DFO's own scientists concluded in 1994 that "the collapse of northern cod can be attributed solely to overexploitation," it wasn't until about 2005, that the DFO began to admit that the seals did not cause the collapse of the cod fishery...but the damage is done and, sadly, most sealers still believe this propaganda!

Credible biologists know that healthy fisheries need healthy seal populations to prosper. Credible biologists know that healthy fisheries need healthy seal populations to prosper.
 
Marine Ecosystem Basics: (Excerpt from "Seal Wars" by Paul Watson)

Another day in the life... Photo: IFAW

And to make the matter even more tragic and pathetic, the government propaganda machine even now continues to dupe the stubborn and ignorant sealing population (much the same way the rich sealing families did to the uneducated poor "working sealers" for so many years) into believing that sealing is the only way they can earn a living for their families.

Although the majority of Canadians oppose the seal hunt, and there have been numerous viable alternatives  to the seal "harvest" offered in the past 20 years, (like ecotourism and the bedding industry utilizing seal hairs obtained by brushing molting seals as a form of high quality "down"), the sealers have rejected these offers and the DFO isn't interested...

... but such is Canadian fisheries politics...

And there is another modern day reason for sealing: The seal penis bone. The seal penis bone was for several years more valuable than the price of a first grade pelt. Asian businesses eagerly sought out the seal penis bones as aphrodiasics for a booming quack industry commonly utilizing rare or endangered animal parts (proven by countless scientific studies to be ineffective.) These black market businesses contracted with shady Canadian fisheries businesses skilled in trafficking these animal parts- while the government vehemently denied it even occurred. Since "erectile dysfunction" drugs came to market, the market for seal penis bones has declined dramatically.

In addition to these reasons for the seal hunt, one must consider the issues of bloodlust and 'pride' or stubbornness in maintaining this tradition. Even in 2008, when sealers were lucky to break even, a few thousand went out to the ice to kill seals. Time after time, sealers are quoted as saying that they kill the seals because it's their tradition and that nobody has the right to tell them to stop. Some have been quoted as saying that they enjoy sealing. (See "Swilers on the sidelines...")