Hunters, environmentalists tangle over seal hunting

By early May, a quarter million seals will have been killed this year off the east coast of Canada

March 27, 1998
Web posted at: 12:20 p.m. EST (1720 GMT)

From Correspondent Sharon Collins

(CNN) -- The annual hunt for harp seals on the ice floes near Canada's eastern coast in the mid-1980s drew huge protests and an end to the clubbing of the youngest pups.

But the hunt never ended and the controversy never really went away.

A protest ship from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where hunting began this past week. And by early May, sealers will have taken a quarter million animals this year, most of them slightly older pups that have lost their white coats.

Seal hunters vs. protestors
	2.9MB/33 sec./320x240 1.1MB/33 sec./160x120 QuickTime movie

The Canadian Sealers Association says the hunt is essential to limit seal populations as seals and human fishermen compete for dwindling fish stocks.

It says products from the hunt can bring in cash to thousands of fishing families at the end of a long winter.

The sealers have produced a marketing video plugging products like sealskin coats and seal pepperoni. It is uncertain how these products will be received, especially in countries like the United States, where such products are illegal to import.

Some say seal hunting is giving eastern Canada a public relations problem

Animal protection groups say the hunt is outdated, surviving only because of government subsidies. While they concede that harp seals are in no danger of extinction, they say the hunt is a dinosaur, giving eastern Canada more of an image problem than an economic boost.

"It's a horribly abusive, cruel hunt for which really there are no products that anyone needs," said Fred O'Reagan of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "That's the basic thing. No one needs these furs, certainly no one needs seal penises for aphrodisiacs. It's a disgrace."

The sealers association says they are up against a well-oiled public relations machine.

"They have a lot of money that they spend in advertising. If you look back at the four months prior to Christmas, they spend millions and millions of dollars in advertising. They're controversial. Being a member of the antis is almost like being in opposition in government. You can say almost anything you want but you never really have to prove it," said Tina Fagan of the sealers association.

Related story:

• Seals seek symbiosis with swimming sapiens - June 6, 1997

Related sites:

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• Canadian Sealers Association
• International Fund for Animal Welfare
• SeaCreatures.com

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