Anti-Seal Hunt Activists Take New Approach
Activism Against the Canadian Seal Hunt Targets Vancouver Olympics
Previous campaigns against the Canadian commercial seal hunt have targeted politicians and the tourism and seafood industries, but the latest campaign involves contacting the committee organizing for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver to do their part to stop the annual cull.
While the World is Watching
Activists argue that while the world's eyes are on Canada for the Olympics next year, the graphic footage of seals being slaughtered for their pelts will greatly damage the country's reputation abroad. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), argues that the extra attention on Canada as it prepares for the Winter Olympics will bring increased scrutiny and comes with the responsibility of setting a positive example for the world.
The commercial seal hunt in Canada has been a topic of controversy since the 1970s. Tactics to pressure the government to end the seal hunt have included celebrity spokespeople, horrific images and footage of the hunt being aired internationally, letter-writing campaigns, Canadian seafood boycott campaigns and Canadian tourism boycott campaigns.
Recent Victories for Anti-Seal Activists
The seal hunt has been under increasing pressure over the past few months, as the European Parliament is considering a ban on imported seal products and recently Senator Mac Harb submitted a private member's bill in the Canadian parliament calling for an end to the commercial seal hunt. This was the first time a Canadian politician introduced legislation to put an end to the seal hunt, which is the largest remaining marine mammal slaughter in the world. The bill would amend the Fisheries Act to prohibit the commercial hunting of seals in Canadian waters, but continue to protect the right of aboriginal peoples to hunt seals.
Each year Canada allows for the shooting or clubbing to death of well over 200,000 seals, most of which are only a few weeks old. The seals are killed and skinned so that there fur can be used in the fashion industry. Several countries already ban the seal trade, such as the United States, Mexico, Belgium, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
Sealers and the Canadian government argue that the seal hunt is vital to the economy of Newfoundland, however activists counter that the revenues from the seal hunt account for less than one per cent of the province's economy. PETA also states that the annual seal hunt is not a vital aspect of the livelihoods of aboriginal or Inuit people, as most seals are commercial fishers from the east coast who use large boats to break through the ice to reach the young seals.
Additional Resources:
Global Action Network: Take Action Against the Seal Hunt
PETA: Fur is Dead: FAQs About the Canadian Seal Hunt
A sealer skins the bloody carcasses of harp seals
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A sealer clubs seals to death on the ice
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