Canada’s seal hunt starts today – 270,000 seals face death
2 April 2007
(Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada) Canada’s annual commercial seal hunt opened today (Mon), with a catch limit of 270,000 harp seals.
Canada’s
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has staggered the start dates this
year, opening the hunt in the southern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence today,
while it has announced that the remainder of the gulf will be open for hunting
from Wednesday (April 4). Conservationists worldwide, including experts with
IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare – www.ifaw.org) have condemned the
hunt as cruel and unnecessary.
This year’s hunt start date was delayed because of very poor ice conditions and few seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This has been linked to global warming.
Canada has allowed more than one million seals to be killed over the past three years. With this year’s commercial total allowable catch limit set at 270,000 seals, this is the fourth consecutive year in which the government allocation has exceeded the amount of seals that can be removed without causing the population to decline. Last year, the government set the limit at 335,000 seals, while the total number of seals actually killed was more than 354,000, based on official government figures.
“This is an unacceptably cruel and unnecessary hunt,” said Sheryl Fink, a senior researcher with IFAW, who is in Charlottetown to observe this year’s hunt. “In past years, we have witnessed unimaginable levels of animal cruelty while observing it, and I expect this year will be no exception.”
Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: “This large-scale commercial hunt targets seal pups. Statistics provided by Canadian government scientists show that of the 354,000 seals killed last year, 98% were less than three months old. Fishermen are allowed to kill pups as soon as they begin to molt their white coats, often these seals are as young as twelve days old.”
IFAW surveillance flights over the past two weeks have confirmed reports of widespread ice break-up and small, scattered groups of seals. However, these conditions will not hinder the sealing industry’s attempt to reach their allotted 270,000 quota.
“With the considerable lack of ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year, it is likely that we will see lots of seals shot by fishermen in open water,” added Fink. “Tragically, those that are not killed outright often slip away in the water and experience a slow, lingering death. Given these conditions, we expect tens of thousands of seals will suffer and die in this manner.”
Over the past year, Canada has been at the receiving end of international criticism for its annual commercial seal hunt, which is seen by many to be cruel and unnecessary.
Several nations have taken action to stop the import of harp and hooded seal products in Europe. In January, Belgium became the first EU nation to pass a national ban followed by Germany’s announcement to institute its own ban. The UK Government recently announced it would support the introduction of an EU-wide ban. However, it could take several years for this to come into effect and IFAW is keen for the UK to introduce a national ban in the meantime.
To learn more about IFAW’s efforts to end the Canadian commercial seal hunt, visit www.stopthesealhunt.co.uk today. For media-related inquiries, contact:
IFAW Press Office
phone: 0207 587 6700
This year’s hunt start date was delayed because of very poor ice conditions and few seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This has been linked to global warming.
Canada has allowed more than one million seals to be killed over the past three years. With this year’s commercial total allowable catch limit set at 270,000 seals, this is the fourth consecutive year in which the government allocation has exceeded the amount of seals that can be removed without causing the population to decline. Last year, the government set the limit at 335,000 seals, while the total number of seals actually killed was more than 354,000, based on official government figures.
“This is an unacceptably cruel and unnecessary hunt,” said Sheryl Fink, a senior researcher with IFAW, who is in Charlottetown to observe this year’s hunt. “In past years, we have witnessed unimaginable levels of animal cruelty while observing it, and I expect this year will be no exception.”
Robbie Marsland, UK Director of IFAW, said: “This large-scale commercial hunt targets seal pups. Statistics provided by Canadian government scientists show that of the 354,000 seals killed last year, 98% were less than three months old. Fishermen are allowed to kill pups as soon as they begin to molt their white coats, often these seals are as young as twelve days old.”
IFAW surveillance flights over the past two weeks have confirmed reports of widespread ice break-up and small, scattered groups of seals. However, these conditions will not hinder the sealing industry’s attempt to reach their allotted 270,000 quota.
“With the considerable lack of ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year, it is likely that we will see lots of seals shot by fishermen in open water,” added Fink. “Tragically, those that are not killed outright often slip away in the water and experience a slow, lingering death. Given these conditions, we expect tens of thousands of seals will suffer and die in this manner.”
Over the past year, Canada has been at the receiving end of international criticism for its annual commercial seal hunt, which is seen by many to be cruel and unnecessary.
Several nations have taken action to stop the import of harp and hooded seal products in Europe. In January, Belgium became the first EU nation to pass a national ban followed by Germany’s announcement to institute its own ban. The UK Government recently announced it would support the introduction of an EU-wide ban. However, it could take several years for this to come into effect and IFAW is keen for the UK to introduce a national ban in the meantime.
To learn more about IFAW’s efforts to end the Canadian commercial seal hunt, visit www.stopthesealhunt.co.uk today. For media-related inquiries, contact:
IFAW Press Office
phone: 0207 587 6700
