by Jamison Maeda
Canada is set to start what can only be described as insanity- the slaughter of up to 450,000 seals.
Though the 2016 seal hunt is expected to kill far less than the quota, Canada’s annual seal hunt has claimed the lives of more than 2 million seals in the last 14 years. It is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet. And not only is the seal slaughter staggeringly inhumane and highly controversial, the commercial seal industry is in no way profitable.
The seal fur industry is in serious decline. Fur producers sit on stockpiles of seal skins because more than 30 countries ban the import of seal products. In recent years, only a few hundred seal hunters have bothered to participate in the annual hunt, which is less hunt and more mass slaughter of newly born grey, harp, and hood seal pups. They are clubbed over the head with a metal spike attached to a rod. Many of them, over 40%, are skinned alive. After the pelt is removed most of the seal meat is left on the ice to rot. In fact, clubbing seals is so cruel that the Canadian government prevented video of it from being aired on television. Perhaps if something is too cruel to watch, it shouldn’t receive government subsidies.
But the Canadian government continues to prop up this unprofitable industry. Over $20 million dollars in subsidies were provided to the Canadian sealing industry between 1995 and 2001 alone. However, despite millions of dollars in financial assistance and government loans, the commercial seal industry continues to be a failure. The hunt costs the people of Canada 5 times its export value. A newly released government document admits that the Canadian government spends $2.5 million to monitor the annual commercial seal hunt, which in 2014 had an export value of only $500,000. And in addition to losing money, commercial seal hunting poses a risk to the fishing industry as seals eat squid and other fish that prey on cod. Removing seals from the marine ecosystem could negatively impact cod populations.
The Canadian government has spend millions of dollars on public relations regarding the hunt, making claims such as Native people depend on the seal hunt to survive. This is false. Native people hunt only a few thousand seals, mostly adults. The pelts they take make up only 3% of the total market.
Arnaituk M. Tarkirk, and Inuit man from Quebec stated that “The money from the hunt goes to Norway mostly and has nothing to do with the Inuit.” He says instead of bashing the seal pups with clubs, Inuit people hunt adult seals for food. Tarkirk says “…if the seal hunt stopped, we would benefit the most. There would be 180,000 more seals left for us to eat when they are a few years older.”
World leaders have called the Canadian seal industry cruel and disgusting, as have celebrities such as Morrissey who condemned the slaughter as barbaric. He says “In Western culture, there is no acceptance of the Canadian seal slaughter…” Morrissey warns that “killing baby seals with lightning brutality is now Canada’s primary global image.”
We must urge the Canadian people to demand that their elected officials call an end this practice, which is not environmentally sound, it is not safe and has claimed the lives of multiple hunters, and it is certainly not humane. We cannot let this slaughter continue. We must support the protesters, sign the petitions, and email the politicians to tell Canada that we object to the seal slaughter, and that we will consider it when it comes to buying Canadian products.