Canada is dismissive of the international opposition to the cruel seal hunt , the largest and most barbaric marine mammal slaughter on the planet.

The Canadian government not only defends but also promotes this cruelty. Canada is also blatantly circumventing a European law aimed at stopping this terrible slaughter.

The seals are used as scapegoats for past mismanagement of fish stocks, a commercial resource and a political football.


t meant that harp seal pups could be legally killed as soon as they begin to shed their whitecoat, around 10 or 12 days after birth. Hooded seals could be killed when they shed their blueback pelt at about 15-16 months of age. However, on 5 May 2009 the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban the placing on the market of seal products throughout the EU following an extensive lobby from animal welfare organisations. This means that a major market for seal fur has been closed and the influential European fashion houses will no longer be able to use seal fur.

The annual seal hunt in Canada has been subject to management since the 1970s but the annual quota has been based more on market demand than scientific evidence. It has steadily increased since the mid 90s during which time new federal subsidies have encouraged sealers to kill more seals. The quota for 2009 was 280,000 seals (with 500,000 carried over from 2008 making a total of 320,000). However the threat of the ban in the EU caused the price of seal pelts to drop from around 100 $Can to around 15 $Can and the total number of seals killed to date is less than 60,000.

The killing of what most would consider to still be baby seals is offensive in itself but the methods of slaughter are horrific. Early in the season harp seals are still killed with clubs or hakapiks as they sit helpless on the ice, unable to escape as they still cannot survive in the water. Later in the season they are shot both on the ice and in the water. They are shot by fishermen, not marksmen. The seals are on shifting ice floes and the sealers on moving boats, so many animals are only injured rather than killed. Some injured seals try to escape by jumping into the water only to die horribly later. As the quota is based on landed catch  these seals are not included in the figures so the amount that actually die is far greater than just the quota allowed.


It is time for the people of the world to show they will not tolerate this barbarism.

Lets stand up and say NO!

Sign  the Petition and share it with your Friends! Crosspost to all networks you are belong to.