HEALTH HAZARDS: Pinniped Meat and Blubber Oil!
Oceans are polluted with synthetic pesticides and industrial chemicals. The higher the animal is in the food chain, the greater the concentration these poisons are in their blubber. Pinnipeds have high levels of contaminants, including organochlorines—such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dioxin—and heavy metals, such as methylmercury.
Selling seal and sea lion meat and the blubber oil for vitamins can be Health Hazards!
High levels of mercury are in the tissues of the Inuit people of Newfoundland and Labrador, who consume seals. A 2018 study from the University of Ottawa found a link between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and high cholesterol levels among Inuit. The study follows earlier work that found a similar link between to some kinds of diabetes.
PCBs can cause nerve damage, reproductive and developmental disorders, immune system suppression, liver damage, skin irritation, and endocrine disruption. DDT exposure is associated with certain cancer risks and neurological and reproductive disorders. Dioxins can cause cancer, metabolic dysfunction, and immune system disorders. Methylmercury consumption can cause neurological and developmental problems.
There are also biohazards in pinnipeds such as leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is an infectious bacterial disease that can cause fatal infection of the kidney, liver, brain, lung or heart.
Blubber Oil Warnings: If advanced separation processes are not implemented for all batches there could be dangerous concentrations of these toxins in these products. Studies of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination of omega-3 supplements have found much higher levels of the toxins in seal oil than in oil from small fish. Levels in supplements derived from plants were undetectable.
While it is illegal to import seal oil capsules into the U.S and other countries smuggling is occurring. (https://www.harpseals.org/about_the_hunt/seal_oil_smugglers_busted.php )
Safer alternatives to seal oil and meat exist! Stop the Killing and Live Healthy with Plant Based Products!