by Loren Drummond
In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence this morning, sealers plowed their boats through open water, searching out seal pups to kill and skin for their fur. Today marks the start of Canada's 2007 commercial seal hunt, which will occur in several phases over the coming weeks. By the end of the annual slaughter, 270,000 seals will likely have been clubbed and shot to death for their fur.
In the area where the government authorized sealers to begin hunting this morning, catastrophic ice conditions led to the deaths of as many as 90 percent of seal pups in March.
"We've gone out into the southern Gulf, and we've seen the few surviving seal pups just clinging to tiny pans of ice," said Rebecca Aldworth, who directs Canadian Wildlife Issues for The HSUS and who will be observing the hunt for the ninth straight year.
Decades-old concerns about the cruelty of the commercial hunt, combined with the poor ice conditions, have elicited worldwide cries of outrage and focused a spotlight on the start of the hunt this year.
Governments around the world are considering banning trade in harp seal fur and products. Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany have either implemented seal product trade bans or are in the process of doing so because of the documented cruelty of Canada's hunt. The European Parliament is considering a similar ban. The United States already prohibits trade in seal fur and products, and this month Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) also introduced a resolution to the Senate urging the Canadian government to put a stop to the hunt.
In spite of worldwide attention, the Canadian government refused to issue any observation permits to international journalists, scientists, and observers for the first portion of the hunt, which is taking place in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The agency overseeing the hunt said it would issue permits to observers for the start of the slaughter in the northern Gulf, which begins on April 4.
"This is clearly a sight that the Canadian government does not want us to witness. It doesn't want us to document those few surviving seals being killed, simply to produce fur coats for the fashion industry." Aldworth said.
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| Reprinted from www.lib.utexas.edu. |
| The Gulf of St. Lawrence. Click map for wider view. |
While sealers in the southern Gulf were searching out seals to kill, sealers based out of the Magdalen Islands and the east coast of Quebec were already moving their boats towards the northern Gulf. In the north, Aldworth says she has seen slightly better ice, but nowhere near the tens of thousands of seals that should be there this time of year.
Aldworth said that the ProtectSeals team has undertaken a massive logistical operation to ensure that the northern Gulf slaughter will be documented.
"I take this responsibility, and the ProtectSeals team takes this responsibility, very seriously. We are there to bear witness and to expose the cruelty and brutality of this hunt to the world," said Aldworth.
