Cover-Up Continues: DFO Restricting Journalists and Seal Hunt Observers Access to Today’s Seal Hunt

[Barrett808]

Rebecca Aldworth, director of Animal Programs for Humane Society International, released the following statement in response to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans restricting journalists and animal welfare experts access to the commercial slaughter of baby seals.

"Yesterday we filmed sealers consistently violating the few regulations that exist to protect seals. It is no coincidence that today the Canadian government is doing everything in its power to stop us from documenting the slaughter. The DFO will only allow one of our helicopters to go into the hunt area, preventing more than a dozen journalists from witnessing the killing today. If the Canadian government's claims that this is a humane slaughter are true, then why are they working so hard to hide it?

Not one sealer I saw yesterday was obeying the new conditions of their hunting licenses – to stun the seals, check for unconsciousness, and then bleed the animals. Given that the sealers are flagrantly ignoring the rules in front of us, imagine what happens when our cameras aren't there.

So far, the Canadian government has systematically blocked observation of the 2008 seal hunt. But we will not give up—while this slaughter continues we will be here to bear witness."

http://www.hsus.org/cover-up_continues_seal_hunt_observation_permits_restricted_march_30_2008.html

[Shoelace]

1. sealers are already breaking that new law!

I saw the video from HSUS's website and they aren't following the new guideline/law that says the seals must be "bled" before being launched into boats.
The other thing I noticed in the new videos is that there aren't many seals at all on the ice now. Wondering how the melting 2006-7 sea ice melt affected mortality rates?
Canada if infamous for mismanaging their fisheries. Doubt they care about the dwindling numbers of Harp seals. I remember hearing one minister say that he didn't care if they all died. Indefensible slaughter!

[GliderGuider]

2. Dwindling numbers?

Just 150 years ago there were 9-10 million harp seals in Arctic waters. Numbers shrank to around three million, because pups were killed in vast numbers by fishermen and hunters, who claimed that the seals were depleting fish stocks. The skins from the pups were sold to the fur trade and made into coats and other clothing.

In the eighties and early nineties, pressure from environmental groups led to a ban on seal hunting, and a recovery in the seal population, with numbers now at a level of between 4.8 and 5.4 million according to Canadian estimates.

The current quota is 5% of the herd. That's too high, especially when there's no need for the hunt beyond providing income to the sealers, but the quota doesn't seem to be endangering the herd. As CC starts to impact the ice conditions, though, anything could happen, and the Precautionary Principle should apply.

Canada's record with the Northern Cod fishery was pretty abysmal (still no sign of recovery 15 years after the moratorium), but they seem to at least be preserving the seal population. Many, many marine species are over-exploited or even on the brink of extinction. It would be nice if we could simply declare the seas (and the North American Great Lakes) off limits to all bio-exploitation, but that doesn't look possible just yet.

[Shoelace]

3. the Canadian government's last survey was done in 2004

alot has happened to the sea ice since then. The massive loss of sea ice during the 2006-7 winter is well documented. This year, it's recovered somewhat but is still far more thin than in previous years. From what I've been reading (and I've spent the better part of this week studying this very subject), scientists have been questioning the various ways that the DSO derives their Harp seal population numbers, saying that their methods aren't reliable at all.

I am going to post more info on this subject but for now, at the link is a study on the various reasons why scientists think that the Harp seal population could very well be declining. The link to the actual PDF study is there as well. The other three research papers I read delve even deeper into this subject.

http://www.harpseals.org/hunt/press/populationdecline.html#ifaw

[GliderGuider]

4. Thanks.

It's always good to get input from people who have been actively investigating an issue. That's a solid-looking paper, with sensible conclusions regarding harvest limits under a precautionary approach to climate change.

On general principles I'd much rather see the hunt banned altogether rather than simply scaled back, but cutting the quota to 165,000 would be a positive first step.

[Shoelace]

5. why Canadians seal hunt will never be "humane"

yes, to stop the seal hunt altogether or at least call a moratorium for a year or two until more is known about how climate change will affect the seal populations, is a good thing.

At the link is yet another article about why the seal hunt will never be humane.
It's from the US Humane Society and a good read.
A couple of short excerpts here:

"This is dangerous, expensive work, and sealers hurry to get in and get out of the area—spending little time to ensure the limited suffering of seals. In many years, hundreds of thousands of seals are killed in just a few days."

"The sealers literally compete against each other for quotas, killing as many animals as quickly as possible before the region's quota is reached. Vessel owners are loathe to remain in the treacherous ice conditions of the seal hunt for any longer than they have to, putting added pressure on the sealers to work quickly. The speed at which the hunt is conducted increases the suffering of the seals as sealers fail to take the time to ensure each animal is unconscious prior to cutting them open."

"Long hours, slippery ice, fragile ice floes, pressure to work quickly, and moving targets all contribute to the suffering of the seals. In recent years, The HSUS has consistently filmed hunters beating seals repeatedly on the jaw, the face and the body—failing to render the animals unconscious. Veterinary studies have confirmed that sealers often fail to crush the skulls of the seals they club, instead striking them in other areas such as the jaw—failing to ensure unconsciousness, let alone death."

http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/marine_mammals_news/inherently_inhumane.html