The Seal Hunt: Canadian Tax Dollars at Work

From 1995 to 2000, both the federal government and the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador provided direct subsidies to Canada’s sealing industry. By pumping an estimated $20 million CDN in subsidies into the Atlantic seal hunt in the late 1990s, the Canadian federal government and the provincial government of Newfoundland and Labrador succeeded in increasing the numbers of harp seals killed to levels not seen in the past 30 years.  While these subsidies were phased out, other less obvious subsidies continue, including the recent funding of a seal processing plant in Quebec.

The seal hunt is not "market-driven"

There is no recent economic analysis to substantiate Canada's claim that the seal hunt is an “economically viable activity.”

There is little about the Canadian sealing industry that is self-sustaining.  Seal processing companies continue to receive hidden subsidies through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; Human Resources Development Canada, and other federal funding programs for staffing and capital costs.

Significant amounts of taxpayer money also continues to be spent to promote the seal hunt in Europe and elsewhere, to develop new markets for seal products, and to fund research into the development of new seal products. The costs of the seal hunt for ice breaking services and for search and rescue, provided by the Canadian Coast Guard, is also underwritten by Canadian taxpayers.

No economic justification for such cruelty to seals

The seal hunt makes a trivial contribution (less than half of one percent) to the Gross Domestic Product of Newfoundland. If one were to deduct the known subsidies, the costs of ice-breakers to help sealers gain access to the seals, the various costs associated with “managing” the seal hunt, the costs associated with Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs’ missions to Europe and elsewhere to promote the hunt, and the economic impacts of the negative international reactions to Canada’s seal hunt, one would likely find that the hunt results in a net economic drain on Canada’s economy and a cost to the Canadian taxpayer. 

Subsidizing an industry that only operates for a few weeks a year and employs only a few hundred people on a seasonal, part-time basis is simply a bad investment on the part of the Canadian government.  Especially when it involves a practice that would be illegal in many other countries.  Instead, the Canadian government should be working towards diversifying the Canadian economy and providing long-term, sustainable jobs for its citizens.