Canadian Senator Aims to Put End to Seal Hunt

Mac Harb Introduces Legislation to End Commercial Seal Cull

Mar 20, 2009

For the first time in Canadian history, a Senator has introduced legislation to amend The Fisheries Act in order to end the commercial seal hunt.

While the proposed amendment would end the controversial annual seal cull, the rights of Canada's aboriginal people would be protected and treaty obligations respected.

Mac Harb believes the resources are at hand to assist in the shift of economic focus for the Eastern Coast region of Canada after the 2009 Federal Budget established a two year, $1 billion Community Adjustment Fund to help communities restructure. More importantly, Harb believes the political will for change is at hand.

Seal Hunt Controversy

For decades the commercial seal hunt has caused controversy throughout the world and has made Canada the target of numerous protests and boycott campaigns. Harb argues that the majority of Canadians do not support the seal hunt and that the costs of the hunt, economic and otherwise, outweigh its benefits. The Senator is calling on Canadians to support his bill and transition Canadian sealers into sustainable industries.

Senator Points to Meager Economic Benefits

Sealers and their supporters claim that the seal hunt provides additional income for hard-hit communities in Canada's Atlantic region. However, last year's hunt was only worth $7 million, which divided among the 6,000 estimated sealers averages to approximately $1,100 each, before deducting expenses. In Newfoundland and Labrador, sealing accounts for less than half of one per cent of the provincial GDP. Harb points out that the risks and costs of the commercial hunt and its declining financial benefits make it useless when considering the high cost to the country and the individuals involved.

The commercial seal hunt mainly caters to a declining industry based on demand for luxury fur items. The market for seal fur has been in a long decline and sealers' earnings have drastically lowered. Now Canadian tax payer dollars go towards supporting the hunt - such as paying for icebreakers to provide access to seal herds on ice flows, providing rescue support when sealers face difficulties, marketing seal products throughout the world and even sending delegations abroad to defend the hunt and lobby foreign governments.

International Support for Ban on Hunt

On March 18, Russia declared a complete ban on the hunting of seals less than one year of age in the White Sea, which effectively shut down the seal hunt industry in that country. The European Union is set to vote in the near future on a Europe-wide proposal to band the trade in seal products, which Canada lobbied against by sending delegations to the European Union on behalf of the sealers. The United States, Mexico, Panama, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary and the Czech Republic have all either banned the trade of seal products or have made moves to do so.

The Atlantic seafood industry is also being targeted by anti-seal hunt activists with a widespread U.S.-based seafood boycott to protest the commercial seal hunt that takes place annually on Canada's East Coast. Many of the fishers involved in the Atlantic seafood industry take part in the seal hunt during the off-season and earn most of their income from the seafood industry, making boycott more financially impactful. Some activists are also now targeting the 2010 Winter Olympics set to be held in Vancouver and are urging the Olympic Committee to speak out against the hunt.

The copyright of the article Canadian Senator Aims to Put End to Seal Hunt in Canadian Affairs is owned by Gemma Richardson. Permission to republish Canadian Senator Aims to Put End to Seal Hunt in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.