By Tanya Mulford

Can public opinion put an end to the largest commercial slaughter of wildlife in the world?

Just watch.

More than 100 demonstrators converged on the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on November 15 to protest the opening of the 20045 Canadian seal hunt, a six-month period during which hunters are expected to kill more than 300,000 harp seals, many just weeks old. This was not the first such demonstration, nor is the United States the only nation to host anti-hunt demonstrations.

In the last year, protests have been held all over Europe and North America. Long-time seal activist and recently appointed HSUS Director of Canadian Wildlife Issues, Rebecca Aldworth told the crowd outside the Canadian Embassy on that clear November afternoon that "International opposition to this hunt is as strong as it's ever been, and it's only getting stronger....From Hungary to Russia to Mexico, we are surrounded by organizations that are going to make this a priority and are going to pressure Canada until it takes the steps necessary to put an end to this horrible slaughter."

While waiting for Aldworth and the other speakers, demonstrators lined up on the street outside the embassy, carrying signs, playing drums, handing out leaflets, and chanting: "The whole world is watching" and "Canada's seal killCanada's shame."

Passersby stopped to sign postcards that call on the Canadian government to end the hunt. Most asked, "What can I do to help?" Some weren't sure if Americans could help the seals. A man looked up from his postcard, pen poised, and questioned, "Is it okay if I do this if I'm not Canadian? My father is."

Many asked for a sign to hold up; within 15 minutes there were no signs left to hand out. One man managed to attach a sign to his Jeep and drove past several times, displaying the sign and honking his horn.

Speaking of Seals

The crowd quieted as HSUS Senior Vice President for Wildlife and Habitat Protection John Grandy announced, "Today marks a horrible day for Canada and for seals...The likelihood is that 350,000 [seals] will be killed this year."

Aldworth, a Newfoundland native who has traveled up to the ice to monitor the hunt for years, spoke of the hunt's brutality and the utter failure of the Canadian government to enforce the regulations that require sealers to kill seals quickly and then perform a test before skinning the animal. Government "enforcement officers aren't checking, making sure that regulations about the killing of seals are being enforced," she told the crowd. "They are checking our observation permits."

Aldworth's observation team, which includes scientists and veterinarians, witnessed an appalling number of seals dying slowly and painfully in piles of carcasses, as well as seals being skinned while alive and conscious. In the past few years her team submitted evidence of "more than 660 apparent violations to the Canadian government." But the government has mostly turned a blind eye to the allegations.

Nor has the government heeded its own citizenry, which also opposes the hunt. This makes it crucial for the citizens of other nations to condemn the annual slaughter. The fact that Americans have been so willing to, as Aldworth put it, "stand with Canadians in asking them to end the seal hunt," filled her with optimism.

While the rally marked the beginning of the seal hunt season"a horrible day," Aldworth confirmed"it is also a day of tremendous optimism because if every person here and every organization will join together on this, we will put a final end to Canada's seal hunt."

The Blame Game

Although the seal hunt would be unacceptable on cruelty grounds alone, HSUS Marine Mammal Scientist Naomi Rose pointed out, it is also a disaster in terms of conservation. Glancing back at the Canadian Embassy, Rose said, "One of the arguments you will hear from the people in this building in support of the seal hunt is that harp seals are overpopulated and that they are eating the cod and other groundfish that the northeastern Canadians rely on....It's a very appealing argument for the fishermen because they want to believe that it's not their fault that codfish have crashed the way they have. But basically it's overfishing by people that causes fish stocks to crash."

The same seal populations, Rose pointed out, were hunted "nearly to extinction in the '50s," and could never have rebounded enough to be considered overpopulated now. And no matter what fishermen or Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans might claim, she added, slaughtering seals "is not about population control." Fishermen "want to eliminate the seals because they see them as competitors."

The final speaker, The Fund for Animals President Mike Markarian, reminded protesters that a massive seal hunt is nothing new.

Decades ago, "millions of Americans and people all over the world saw on their television screens the clubbing and the slaughter of seal pups, and people were outraged." World opinion shut down the hunt then, Markarian said, and it could do it again.

And there's still time for this year's hunt, Markarian added. "While the seal hunt officially begins today, the real carnage is schedule to begin in March. If the Canadian government doesn't stop [the hunt], we're going to launch a boycott."

Hitting Where It Hurts: The Economy

The HSUS and other members of the coalition have served notice to the Canadian government that on the death of the first seal pup next spring, we will call for a boycott of Canadian seafood. The coalition is arranging meetings with major U.S. buyers of Canadian seafood to organize this boycott.

Following the rally, Aldworth confirmed that U.S. consumers could be a powerful force in changing the Canadian government's policy on the hunt. "The United States is Canada's most important trading partner. For example, American tourists contribute more than $6 billion annually to Canada's economy. Seventy-five percent of all Canadian seafood is exported to the United States, at a value of more than $3 billion Canadian in 2002."

Aldworth has repeatedly noted that very few Canadians actually profit from the seal hunt: about 4,000 people make perhaps $1,000 Canadian each hunting season. Documentation shows that the Canadian government has resorted to directly subsidizing the industry, which produces pelts for sale in Europe and Scandinavia. (The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act forbids the sale of seal fur in this country.)

"It's an industry that causes the death and suffering of hundreds of thousands of animals for the benefita meager one at thatof a very few," The HSUS's Grandy said. "The Canadian government has nothing of value to lose and everything to gain by ending the hunt. We don't like to call for a seafood boycott, but if that's what it takes to get the message across, then we're ready to do so."

One woman who joined the protest has already instituted her own boycott: "I don't buy anything from Canada. I spend my money according to my politics."

Tanya Mulford is the web editor for wildlife and habitat protection.