When speaking of the annual commercial seal hunt in Canada, politicians and supporters inevitably mention the necessity of the killing by placing focus on the aboriginal peoples. Canada's government uses the coastal communities indigenous as an excuse to continue the seal slaughter, falsely citing the hardship ending the hunt would cause them.
This rhetoric goes on so often that some citizens assume it to be true.
This rhetoric goes on so often that some citizens assume it to be true.
However, the commercial seal slaughter and the hunting by the indigenous, are two completely separate things,
Of the typically hundreds of thousands of seals killed in Canada each year, 1% are killed by the native peoples.
Campaigns calling for the end of commercial seal hunting do not effect them. Even the EU ban on commercial seal products excludes them.
Every year, each has it's own quota. COMPLETELY SEPARATE.
Every year, each has it's own quota. COMPLETELY SEPARATE.
Politicians know this, which means that using a matter-of fact manner about a known misconception, shows a lack of integrity, and the coastal community buys into it. If politicians were genuinely concerned with economic stability, they would cancel commercial seal hunting immediately.
Canada's government has been irresponsible in continuing to use taxpayer funding to "create" a product, in this case, dead seals, and hoping to find a buyer afterwards.
Each year their customer base not only grows smaller and smaller, but for the past several years, has been virtually non-existent.
Besides believing the effect on the native peoples, some Canadians even believe that the $4.3 million they spent for Coast Guard assistance for the 2009/2010 seal hunt wasn't an additional cost. This couldn't be less true. Each year the Coast Guard, while somehow allowed to be directed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, are deployed to lead seal hunter boats, break ice for the seal killers, and rescue/retrieving them during the many accidents, including drownings. This is time and money spent above normal operations and duties meant for this Federal branch.
Though most of Canada and the world wants the seal hunt to end, the government dismisses their desires, switching the blame to over-population of seals. Without getting into how this is impossible in an undisturbed eco-system, Canada needs to tell the government that they see through the smoke and mirrors. If the seal hunt goes on due to over-population, why, if the hunting of harp and grey seal season is from November 15 through June 15 each year, does 95% of the killing occur after pups are born in the spring? If killing were done due to over-population, wouldn't the commercial fishermen of Canada be killing adult seals of breeding age?
Only Canada's citizens can allow the government to continue to shamelessly misconstrue the facts. Why would anyone allow "tradition" to get in he way of thinking for themselves?
The miniscule amount of dollars brought in by an industry that has long fallen off of its last leg, is dwarfed by the funding taken from the taxpayer. How much? About 3 times as much.
While tax dollars are being wasted on DFO mismanagement, compensation to fishermen for boat damages, travel expenses to find customers for seal products, taking countries and the EU to the WTO to fight seal bans, not to mention the loss of respect by the rest of the world, and pending trade deals with the EU, there IS one facet of the seal slaughter industry that is paying off big time - that's the propaganda campaign.
-Denise Perrin
-Denise Perrin
