Nigel Barker

"The only sounds you hear are the calls of the newborn seals."

By Rebecca Aldworth

Yesterday we landed in the magnificent harp seal nursery, about 25 miles off the shores of the Magdalen Islands.

It is my tenth year of bearing witness to this woundrous site, and for me, it is one of the most spectacular scenes on Earth.

Miles from land, surrounded by amazing ice floes drenched in blues and violets, the only sounds you hear are the calls of the newborn seals. 

We put our helicopter down a safe distance away from a group of mothers and their pups, and we walked over to where the seals lay on the ice. The pups were very young—just a day or two of age. They nursed from their mothers peacefully, but they were curious about us. Some crawled towards us, clearly interested in these strange creatures who had come into their world.

The day passed quickly. Nigel Barker and his team photographed the charismatic pups, lying on the ice at eye level with the inquisitive seals.

Nigel Barker

"Completely trusting and innocent."

Alison Steadman, a British actress who flew thousands of miles to speak out against the pending seal hunt, remarked as she interacted with the seals that it was the most amazing day of her life.

At the end of the day, we all got back into our helicopter to warm up. Suddenly, we heard a plaintive cry. We looked out the window of the helicopter, and a fat young pup was staring up at us from just next to the door of the helicopter. It was a magical moment—we all got out and spent a few minutes with this curious baby, who crawled to each of us in turn, staring up at us with fascination.

As she flipped on her back and rolled around on the ice, she was completely trusting and innocent. And when she crawled back across the ice to reunite with her mother, we all thought of the fate awaiting her. 

We prepared to leave, and an icy wind began to blow. With the cold came the hard realization that the magic of this visit will soon be replaced by the horror of the hunt—the images of blood, the cries, and the pain that none of us will never be able to forget.

Nigel Barker

The seal pups were only a day or two old.

However, there is a lots of hope. Every year, for a few weeks in early March, this magnificent landscape serves as an economic boost to local residents. Tourists flock from all over the world to see the pups—giving business to hotels, ice guides, and restaurants.  The money generated by the sealwatch industry is greater than that earned by the seal hunt in this area.

But local residents want to have it  both ways, and they flat out refuse to accept that a seal is worth more alive than dead.  Once  the last tourist leaves, the hunters  quickly descend on the pups, clubbing and shooting them to death for their skins. They don't seem to care that they are losing the business of many people who would love to see the seals but cannot bring themselves to do so with the knowledge that the pups will die just a few weeks later. 

Fortunately, our campaign to end the commercial seal hunt is making real headway. With bans on seal product trade pending, and the Canadian seafood boycott gaining momentum, the seals finally have a chance. Please stay with us as we return to these floes in the coming weeks to bear witness to the heartbreaking seal slaughter, and continue our fight to ensure it is the last one that ever happens.