ATLANTIC CANADA SEAL HUNT
MYTHS AND REALITIES
Myth #1: The Canadian government allows sealers to kill adorable little
white seals.
Reality: The image of the whitecoat harp seal
is used prominently by seal hunt opponents. This image gives the false
impression that vulnerable seal pups are targeted by sealers during the
commercial hunt.
The hunting of harp seal pups (whitecoats) and hooded seal pups (bluebacks)
is illegal - and has been since 1987. Marine Mammal Regulations prohibit the
trade, sale or barter of the fur of these pups. Furthermore, seals cannot be
harvested when they are in breeding or birthing grounds.
Myth #2: Seals are being skinned alive.
Reality: The most recent Canadian Veterinary
Medical Association (CVMA) Report and numerous reports mentioned by the
Malouf Commission (1987) indicate that this is not true.
Sometimes a seal may appear to be moving after it has been killed;
however seals have a swimming reflex that is active - even after death. This
reflex falsely appears as though the animal is still alive when it is
clearly dead - similar to the reflex in chickens.
Myth #3: Seals are not independent animals when they are killed - they
still rely on their mothers and can't even swim or fend for themselves.
Reality: Only weaned, self-reliant seals are
hunted after they have been left by their mothers to fend for themselves.
The vast majority of harp seals are taken after more than 25 days of age,
after their white coat has moulted. Harp seals have the ability to swim at
this stage of development. They are also opportunistic feeders and prey on
whatever food source in readily available to them.
Myth #4: Countless seals that slip off the ice after being clubbed or
shot are lost and never accounted for.
Reality: "Struck and lost" data from at-sea
observers as well as the CVMA indicate that this is not true. In fact, the
record of struck and loss for the Canadian commercial seal hunt stands at
less than five per cent.
For one thing, most of the harp seals taken in Canada are hunted on the
ice rather than in the water and this makes losses much lower than in places
like Greenland. Second, harp seals that are hunted have very high levels of
body fat, making them quite buoyant. That, coupled with the buoyant
qualities of salt water, make it quite easy for sealers to retrieve a seal
should they slip into the water after being shot.
Myth #5: The Canadian government is allowing sealers to kill nearly one
million seals to help with the recovery of cod stocks.
Reality: Several factors have contributed to
the lack of recovery of Atlantic cod stocks, such as fishing effort, poor
growth and physical condition of the fish, and environmental changes. Seals
eat cod, but seals also eat other fish that prey on cod, therefore it is
difficult to hold any one factor responsible for the decline in cod stocks.
In addition, there are many uncertainties in the estimates of the amount
of fish consumed by seals. The commercial quota is established on sound
conservation principles, not an attempt to assist in the recovery of
groundfish stocks.
Myth #6: The club - or hakapik - is a barbaric tool that has no place in
today's world.
Reality: Clubs have been used by sealers since
the onset of the hunt hundreds of years ago. Hakapiks originated with
Norwegian sealers who found it very effective. Over the years, studies
conducted by the various veterinary experts, and American studies carried
out between 1969 and 1972 on the Pribilof Islands hunt (Alaska) have
consistently proven that the club or hakapik is an efficient tool designed
to kill the animal quickly and humanely. A recent report in September, 2002,
by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, had results that parallel
these findings.
Myth #7: The methods used to kill seals are far less humane than those
used to hunt or slaughter any other domestic or wild animal.
Reality: 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.
Myth #8: The hunt is unsustainable.
Reality: Since the 1960's, environmental groups
have been saying the seal hunt is unsustainable. In fact, the harp seal
population is healthy and abundant. In excess of five million animals, the
Northwest Atlantic seal herd is nearly triple what it was in the 1970s. DFO
sets quotas at levels that ensure the health and abundance of seal herds. In
no way are seals - and harp seals in particular - an "endangered species".
Myth #9: The "hunt" is simply a front for what is actually a cull aimed
at reducing the population of harp seals.
Reality: The seal hunt is not a cull. It is a
sustainable, commercially viable fishery based on sound conservation
principles. In fact, the Department has adopted an Objective-Based Fisheries
Management approach using control rules and reference points to establish
management measures for the harp seal hunt. This process will facilitate a
market-driven harvest that will enable sealers to maximize their benefits
without compromising conservation. If the current three-year Total Allowable
Catch (TAC) is fully taken, the population will still remain well above 70
per cent of its highest known abundance, found in the latest survey in 1999.
DFO takes a number of factors into consideration when establishing TAC
levels for harp seals, including - ice conditions, pup mortality, natural
mortality, incidental harvest or by-catch, the Greenland and Arctic hunts
and commercial harvest levels.
Myth #10: The seal hunt provides such low economic return for sealers
that it is not an economically viable industry.
Reality: The landed value of seals was $16
million in 2004. Pelt prices as high as $70 have recently been recorded.
Seals are a significant source of income for some individual sealers. The
money is earned over a very short period. Sealing also creates employment
opportunities for buying and processing plants.
While sealing income may seem negligible by some US or European
standards, sealers themselves have stated that their income from sealing can
represent from 25-35 per cent of their total annual income. Sealing also
represents benefits to thousands of families in Eastern Canada at a time of
year when other fishing options are unavailable or limited at best, in many
remote, coastal communities.
Myth #11: The Canadian government provides subsidies for the seal hunt.
Reality: The Government of Canada does not
subsidize the seal hunt. Sealing is an economically viable industry. All
subsidies ceased in 2001. Even before that time, any subsidies provided were
for market and product development, including a meat subsidy, to encourage
full use of the seal. In fact, government has provided fewer subsidies to
the sealing industry than recommended by the Royal Commission on Sealing.
Myth #12: The seal hunt is not worth it - seals are only taken for their
fur and the rest of the animal is wasted.
Reality: Seals have been harvested for food,
fuel and shelter and other products for hundreds of years. The subsistence
hunt is a valuable link to Canadian cultural heritage. Canada exports seal
products in three forms: pelts, oil and meat. Traditionally, the pelts have
been the main commodity, but production of seal oil for human consumption
has grown substantially in recent years. Seal oil markets remain positive,
and a large percentage of seal oil is finding its way into areas other than
traditional marine and industrial oils.
DFO encourages the fullest use of seals, with the emphasis on leather,
oil, handicrafts, and in recent years, meat for human and animal consumption
as well as seal oil capsules rich in Omega-3. Any seal parts that are left
on the ice provide sustenance to a wide variety of marine scavengers such as
crustaceans, seabirds and fish.
Myth #13: The seal hunt is loosely monitored and DFO doesn't punish
illegal hunting activity or practices.
Reality: The seal hunt is closely monitored
and tightly regulated. Canada's enforcement of sealing regulations is
thorough and comprehensive. Regulations and licensing policies stipulate
hunting seasons, quotas, vessel size and methods of dispatch. Fishery
Officers monitor the seal hunt in numerous ways to ensure sealers comply
with Canada's Marine Mammal Regulations. They conduct surveillance of the
hunt by means of aerial patrols, surface (vessel) patrols, dockside
inspections of vessels at landing sites and inspections at buying and
processing facilities. In 2004, Fishery Officers spent approximately 8600
hours monitoring and enforcing the hunt. In the last five years, 94 charges
were laid and convictions were upheld in 57 of those cases.
Sealers are well trained in humane hunting methods and
are, as a group, responsible and law abiding. Assumptions that large
numbers of sealers are violating the laws and regulations governing the hunt
are unfounded.
Myth #14: If sealers take more than their allotted quota, DFO simply
further raises the quota for them.
Reality: The Government of Canada has strict
conservation measures in place, and is committed to the careful management
of all seals to ensure strong, healthy populations in the years to come.
2005 is the last year of a three-year harp seal hunt management plan. The
harp seal TAC was set at 975,000 for 2003-2005 and it has not been raised.
This multi-year management plan was developed in consultation with more than
100 stakeholders, including conservation groups, at the 2002 Seal Forum in
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
There have been two instances when TACs were allowed to be exceeded to
allow sealers disadvantaged by environmental conditions to have an
opportunity to seal after good hunting in other areas had allowed the full
TAC to be taken early.
These decisions were made only because the increased hunting would not
jeopardize conservation and sustainability.
Myth #15: Anyone can get a licence - even those who have never hunted
before, and there are no training requirements.
Reality: Before sealers can qualify for a
professional licence they must obtain an assistant licence and work under
the supervision of a professional sealer for two years. Individuals applying
for a personal use licence must demonstrate they apply good sealing
practices to ensure the seal is killed in a quick and humane fashion.
Personal sealing licences will only be issued to individuals who had a
licence, a valid hunter's capability certificate, or big game licence the
previous year and who have attended a mandatory training session.
Myth #16: The majority of Canadians are opposed to the seal hunt.
Reality: Animal rights groups currently
campaigning against the seal hunt cite a 2004 Ipsos-Reid poll stating that
71 per cent of Canadians are opposed to the hunt. In fact, Canadians support
federal policies regarding the seal hunt. An Ipsos-Reid survey conducted in
February 2005 concluded that 60 per cent of Canadians are in favour of a
responsible hunt. The survey methodology and results of this poll are
available on request.
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