Thoughts from the Dirty City

Friday, March 28, 2008 the commercial hunt for 275,000 baby harp seals began. I got an email from The Humane Society of The United States notifying me of the situation. I was honestly a little confused when I read the email. I distinctly remember this practice being banned in the 80’s. So I did a little bit of research and it turns out that I was right, sort of.

In 1983 the the outrage over what was happening to these animals brought the seal hunt to an end. Europe banned the trade of fur from newborn seals and much of the world stopped looking assuming the problem had been solved. The hunt continues though. Hunters have found a way around the import ban by waiting until the pups are 12 days old before clubbing them. See, there is no ban in place of seal skin, just “baby” seal skin.

In 2006 legislation began to be drafted by European Parliament banning the trade of all seal products, regardless of the age of the seal. Studies are currently being conducted to provide a foundation for such a ban. The findings of these studies are by no means surprising. Seals are often killed ineffectively, meaning that the initial blow to the head doesn’t render them unconscious, as it is suppose to. Many times these still fully conscious pups are hooked, dragged to the boat and skinned alive.

Regulations state that after “stunning” the pups (rendering them unconscious) they are to be bled on the ice before being transported to the vessel for processing. As barbaric as it sounds, this is the most humane method of hunting for pup fur. Yet this is rarely the way the kill goes down. In most cases, even the supposed “humane” scenarios, it takes several blows from the club to knock out the struggling pup. They are then transported to the boat to be processed, the lucky ones never regain consciousness. The carcass is then tossed back on to the ice to rot. There is no market for seal blubber, and the young pups offer little meat.

I know that many people are going to make the argument that these hunters need to make a living and feed their families, and I completely agree. Truth is, the boats and crews that make these trips are local fishermen. It just so happens that the seal hunt takes place in the fishing off season. The money they make off the pup pelts is a very small fraction of their annual income. Income that can be made up for with other government programs that are already in place.

The hunt is not only a tragedy for the seal pups, it is also an incredible and unnecessary risk to the humans involved. Already this year three fisherman have lost their lives to the icy waters. This truly is a no win situation for all those involved.

The commercial seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on Earth. To learn more, and to help put an end to the hunt visit The Humane Society’s website at: www.hsus.org