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By Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Loyola Hearn, for the National Post, Mar. 2, 2006.
The annual seal hunt in Atlantic Canada is about to begin, and as the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, I want to take this opportunity to clarify for your readers what the seal hunt is, and what it is not. In particular, I would like to respond to some of the criticisms advanced by author Matthew Scully in the Feb. 13 issue of the National Post.
While the Government of Canada respects an individual's choice to support or oppose the seal hunt, we encourage people to form their opinions based on the facts.
For sealers from small communities in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Maritimes, Quebec and Nunavut, the seal hunt is an economically necessary activity. It is not a hobby, or a sport. It is not fun. It is hard work, and frequently dangerous. In recent years, especially in Atlantic Canada, sealing has become an increasingly important economic activity.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans' responsibility with respect to the seal hunt is to regulate it, monitor it and to provide the science that leads to hunt management plans. The harp seal herd has nearly tripled in size since the 1970s, and now stands at 5.8 million. By any measure, this is a conservation success story. Seals represent a valuable and sustainable natural resource, and we manage this resource with conservation plans that err on the side of caution. Our scientific research on seals is second to none, and is peer-reviewed by independent scientists from around the world.
The seal hunt is a humane one. In 2002, a report in the Canadian Veterinary Medical Journal - peer-reviewed research done by independent veterinarians - concluded that 98% of the animals were killed in an acceptably humane manner, in keeping with the methods used in processing domestic livestock. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is working on improving that record even further, and is currently looking at recommendations with the aim of ensuring a 100% humane hunt. Seals after death frequently exhibit a swim-reflex motion that gives the false impression the seal is still alive. Images such as these can be easily interpreted by some audiences (and used by animal rights organizations) as proof of suffering, when in fact the seal is dead and moving involuntarily.
There are other images of which to be wary: almost all animal protection organizations prominently feature white-coated harp seal pups in their promotional material and on their Web sites. These images lead one to believe young white-coats are hunted. They are not. The hunting of white-coated harp seals has been prohibited since 1987.
The seal hunt is tightly monitored and controlled by DFO officers on Coast Guard vessels, by air and on the ice. The hunt is subject to sections of the Marine Mammal Regulations, which are designed to ensure sealers carry out their activities properly, with correct equipment and under strict conditions of licence. When violations of those regulations occur, my department vigorously pursues charges against those who break the law.
Sealers engage in a lawful, regulated, humane and sustainable hunt. Their goal is to provide for their families. The limits put on distances between sealing operations and observers are there to ensure the hunt is carried out in a safe, orderly manner for both hunters and observers. We sincerely hope that this year's hunt is incident-free. One of our best hopes of continuing a profitable, safe and humane hunt is a public that understands the facts.