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===Cruelty to animals===
===Cruelty to animals===
[[Image:Jerry-Vlasak-inspects-seal-carcass.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Dr. [[Jerry Vlasak]] (right), spokesman for the [[Animal Liberation Press Office]], and a colleague from the [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]] inspect seal carcasses during the 2005 Canadian hunt.]]
[[Image:Jerry-Vlasak-inspects-seal-carcass.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Dr. [[Jerry Vlasak]] (right), spokesman for the [[Animal Liberation Press Office]], and a colleague from the [[Sea Shepherd Conservation Society]] inspect seal carcasses during the 2005 Canadian hunt.]]
A study of the 2001 Canadian seal hunt conducted by five independent veterinarians, commissioned by the [[International Fund for Animal Welfare]] (IFAW, a group opposing Canadian seal hunting), <ref>[http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/fopo/reports/rp2872843/foporp04/05_report-e.htm Ensuring A Sustainable And Humane Seal Harvest]</ref> concluded that, although the hakapik, when used properly, is a humane <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/protect_seals/the_truth.html|title=HSUS Seal protection program}}</ref> means of hunting, many hunters were not using it properly. This improper use, they said, was leading to "considerable and unacceptable suffering," and in 17 percent of the cases they observed, there were no detectable lesions of the skull whatsoever. In numerous other cases, the seals had to be struck multiple times before they were considered "unconscious."<ref>[http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/dfiles/file_95.pdf IFAW study].</ref> A CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) report states that veterinary pathologist, Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, at the same time and in the same location, recorded that 86 of 100 examined skulls had been completely crushed by strikes with hakapiks. It states further that in 1999, CVMA's Trent K. Bollinger and Keith G. Campbell had recorded that 98.2 percent of the skulls examined were completely crushed.<ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=339547 Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada]</ref>
A study of the 2001 Canadian seal hunt conducted by five independent veterinarians, commissioned by the [[International Fund for Animal Welfare]] (IFAW, a group opposing Canadian seal hunting), <ref>[http://cmte.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/committee/391/fopo/reports/rp2872843/foporp04/05_report-e.htm Ensuring A Sustainable And Humane Seal Harvest]</ref> concluded that the hakapik, when used properly, is a humane <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/protect_seals/the_truth.html|title=HSUS Seal protection program}}</ref> means of hunting, although some hunters were not using it properly. This improper use, they said, was leading to "considerable and unacceptable suffering," and in 17 percent of the cases they observed, there were no detectable lesions of the skull whatsoever. In numerous other cases, the seals had to be struck multiple times before they were considered "unconscious."<ref>[http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/dfiles/file_95.pdf IFAW study].</ref> This is at odds with a CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) report states that veterinary pathologist, Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, at the same time and in the same location, recorded that 86 of 100 examined skulls had been completely crushed by strikes with hakapik. It states further that in 1999, CVMA's Trent K. Bollinger and Keith G. Campbell had recorded that 98.2 percent of the skulls examined were completely crushed.<ref>[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=339547 Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada]</ref>


In 2005, the [[World Wildlife Fund]] (WWF) commissioned the Independent Veterinarians Working Group Report. With reference to video evidence, the report states: "Perception of the seal hunt seems to be based largely on emotion, and on visual images that are often difficult even for experienced observers to interpret with certainty. While a hakapik strike on the skull of a seal appears brutal, it is humane if it achieves rapid, irreversible loss of consciousness leading to death."<ref>[http://www.thesealfishery.com/files/IVWGReportAug2005.pdf Independent Veterinarians Working Group Report].</ref>
In 2005, the [[World Wildlife Fund]] (WWF) commissioned the Independent Veterinarians Working Group Report. With reference to video evidence, the report states: "Perception of the seal hunt seems to be based largely on emotion, and on visual images that are often difficult even for experienced observers to interpret with certainty. While a hakapik strike on the skull of a seal appears brutal, it is humane if it achieves rapid, irreversible loss of consciousness leading to death."<ref>[http://www.thesealfishery.com/files/IVWGReportAug2005.pdf Independent Veterinarians Working Group Report].</ref>

Revision as of 00:31, 14 March 2008

Sealing redirects here; for other uses, see sealing (disambiguation).
File:Banquise.jpg
A commercial seal hunt, 2007. Seals are hunted for their pelts to make coats, and for the oil made from their fat.

Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals for their pelts, blubber, penises, and meat, which is mostly used as silage for other animals.[1] The hunt is practised in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, as well as Greenland, Namibia, Norway, and Russia.

Seal populations were severely depleted when commercial sealing became a major industry, with the world harp seal population declining to 1.5 million.[2] As a result of population concerns hunting is now controlled by quotas based on recommendations from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES),[3] and in 2007, the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) set the "total allowable catch" (TAC) of harp seals at 270,000 per year.[4] The Marine Animal Response Society per March 2007, estimates the harp seal population in the world at 9.5 million.[5]

The practice remains highly controversial, attracting significant media coverage and protests each year.[2] Images from the hunts have become iconic symbols for conservation, animal welfare, and animal rights advocates.

History

Traditional Inuit hunt

Inuit seal hunting

Archeological evidence indicates that the Native Americans and First Nations People in Canada have been hunting seals for at least 4,000 years. Traditionally, when an Inuit boy killed his first seal or caribou, a feast was held. The meat was an important source of protein, vitamin A and iron, and the pelts were prized for their warmth.[6]

The Inuit seal hunting accounts for three percent of the total hunt. The traditional Inuit seal hunting is excluded from The European Commission's call in 2006 for a ban on the import, export and sale of all harp and hooded seal products. [2] The natsiq (ringed seal) have been the main staple for food, and have been used for clothing, boots, fuel for lamps, a delicacy, containers, igloo windows, and furnished harnesses for huskies. The natsiq is no longer used to this extent, but ringed seal is still an important food source for the people of Nunavut. [3]

History of hunting elsewhere

Seals are hunted for their pelts for coats, blubber for oil, meat for pet food, and genitals as reported aphrodisiacs.

Seal coats have long been prized for their warmth. Seal oil was often used as lamp fuel, lubricating and cooking oil, for processing such materials as leather and jute, as a constituent of soap, and as the liquid base for red ochre paint.

There is evidence that seals were hunted in northwest Europe and the Baltic Sea more than 10,000 years ago. [citation needed] The first commercial hunting of seals is said to have occurred in 1515, when a cargo of fur seal skins from Uruguay was sent to Spain for sale in the markets of Seville.[7] Sealing became more prevalent in the late 1700s when seal herds in the southern hemisphere began to be hunted by whalers. In 1778, English sealers brought back from the Island of South Georgia and the Magellan Strait area as many as 40,000 seal skins and 2,800 tons of elephant seal oil. In 1791, 102 vessels, manned by 3000 sealers, were hunting seals south of the equator. Most of the pelts taken during these expeditions would be sold in China.[7]

The Newfoundland seal hunt became an annually recorded event starting in 1723. By the late 1800s, sealing had become the second most important industry in Newfoundland, second only to cod fishing.[8] The peak of the sealing industry occurred in 1821, when Lloyd's Register had 164 sealing vessels on their records.

By 1830, most seal stocks had been seriously depleted, and Lloyd's records only showed one full-time sealing vessel on its books.[9] Since then, a number of nations have outlawed the hunting of seals and other marine mammals. Today, commercial sealing is conducted by only five nations: Canada, Greenland, Namibia, Norway, and Russia. The United States, which had been heavily involved in the sealing industry, now maintains a complete ban on the commercial hunting of marine mammals, with the exception of indigenous peoples who are allowed to hunt a small number of seals each year.[10]

Equipment and method

Rifles and hakapiks are permitted. Canadian sealing regulations describe the dimensions of the clubs and the hakapiks, and caliber of the rifles and minimum bullet velocity, that can be used. They state that: "Every person who strikes a seal with a club or hakapik shall strike the seal on the forehead until its skull has been crushed," and that "No person shall commence to skin or bleed a seal until the seal is dead," which occurs when it "has a glassy-eyed, staring appearance and exhibits no blinking reflex when its eye is touched while it is in a relaxed condition."[11][12]

Hakapiks

A hakapik
Main article: Hakapik

The main method[citation needed] of killing seals is with the hakapik, a heavy wooden club with a hammer head and metal hook on the end. The use of guns is also allowed, but the hakapik is preferred because the seal can be killed without damage to its pelt. The hammer head is used to crush the skull, while the hook is used to move the carcass.

Modern sealing

Products made from seals

A vest made of seal fur

Seal skins are used to make waterproof jackets and boats, and seal fur to make fur coats. Pelts account for over for half the processed value of a seal, selling at $25 each as of 2003.[1] Some high-end fashion designers, such as Donatella Versace and Gucci have begun to use seal pelts, while others, such as Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Tommy Hilfiger, and Ralph Lauren, refrain from using any kind of fur.[13][14]

Seal meat is sold to the Asian pet food market, and used as silage for farm animals. Their blubber is used to make seal oil, which is marketed as a fish oil supplement. In 1997 their penises were priced at $25 a penis, when sold as aphrodisiacs on the Asian market.[1][2]

Belgian ban

In January 2007, Belgium became the first European country to ban all seal products in a unanimous vote of Belgian parliamentarians.[15] Shortly afterwards, Greenland claimed it would sue Belgium for a move that it said would violate European Union law and cripple the livelihood of Inuit hunters. Greenland's minister for finance and foreign affairs expressed concern that other EU countries might follow suit.[16] Canada has launched a challenge to the ban. [17]

The European Union executive commission has rejected appeals for an EU-wide ban on the import of seal fur products in response to an EU assembly vote in 2006 in favour of one.[18][19]

Sealing nations

Canada

In Canada, the season for the commercial hunt of harp seal is from November 15 to May 15.[20] Most sealing occurs in late March in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and during the first or second week of April off Newfoundland, in an area known as "The Front." This peak spring period is generally what is referred to as the "Canadian Seal Hunt".[21]

In 2003, the three-year harp seal quota granted by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans was increased to a maximum of 975,000 animals per three years, with a maximum of 350,000 animals in any two consecutive years.[20] In 2006, 325,000 harp seals, as well as 10,000 hooded seals and 10,400 grey seals were killed. An additional 10,000 animals were allocated for hunting by Aboriginal peoples.

The Canadian seal hunt is monitored by the Canadian government. Although around 70 percent of Canadian seals killed are killed on "The Front,"[21] the vast majority of private monitors focus on the St. Lawrence hunt, because of its more convenient location.[11] The 2006 St. Lawrence leg of the hunt was officially closed on Apr. 3, 2006. Sealers had exceeded the quota by 1,000 animals by the time the hunt was closed.[22] On March 26, 2007 the Newfoundland and Labrador government launched a seal hunt website.

Warm winters in the Gulf of St. Lawrence have led to thinner and more unstable ice there. In 2007, Canada's federal fisheries ministry reported that while the pups are born on the ice as usual, the ice floes have started to break up before the pups learn to swim, causing the pups to drown. [23] The 2007 harp seal quota was reduced by Canadian authorities with 20 percent, because overflights showed large numbers of seal pups were lost to thin and melting ice.[24] However in southern Labrador and off Newfoundland's northeast coast, there was extra heavy ice in 2007, and the coast guard estimated that as many as 100 vessels were trapped in ice simultaneously.[25][26]

Regulations

In addition to describing the use of the rifle and hakapik (see further up in this article), regulations also state that every person "who fishes for seals for personal or commercial use shall land the pelt or the carcass of the seal."[11] The commercial hunting of infant harp seals (whitecoats) and infant hooded seals (bluebacks) was banned in Canada in 1987 under pressure from animal rights groups. Now seals may only be killed once they have started moulting (from 12 to 15 days of age for harp seals), as this coincides with the time when they are abandoned by their mothers. These pups, who have not yet completely moulted, are known as "ragged-jackets". Once the pups have completely moulted, they are called "beaters".

Export

Canada's biggest market for seal pelts is Norway.[27] Carino Limited is one of Newfoundland's largest seal pelt producers. Carino (CAnada-RIeber-NOrway) is marketing its seal pelts mainly through its parent company, GC Rieber Skinn, Bergen, Norway.[28] Canada sold pelts to eleven countries in 2004, with Norway, Germany, Greenland, and China, including Hong Kong, purchasing the largest quantities. Other buying countries were Finland, Denmark, France, Greece, South Korea, and Russia.[29] Asia remains the principal market for seal meat exports.[30] One of Canada's market access priorities for 2002, was to "continue to press Korean authorities to obtain the necessary approvals for the sale of seal meat for human consumption in Korea."[31] Canadian and Korean officials agreed in 2003 on specific Korean import requirements for seal meat.[32] For 2004, only Taiwan and South Korea purchased seal meat from Canada.[33]

Greenland

Although official figures for the Greenland seal hunt are not available, the government of Canada estimates that 20,000 to 25,000 seals are killed in Greenland annually.[34] In January 2006, the government of Greenland banned imports of Canadian seal skins, citing fears that Canadian seals are brutally beaten to death. The boycott may be an effort to distance Greenland's own seal hunt from Canada's, and spare themselves negative press in the process.[35] The ban was rescinded in May 2006, with the Greenland Home Rule Government noting that the seal hunt in Canada has sensible regulations on hunting methods, drawn up in close cooperation with biologists, veterinarians, weapons experts and seal hunters.[citation needed] It further noted that seal-hunting in Canada is subject to strict and extensive control measures, which some claim has led to the use of effective and humane killing methods.

Namibia

In 2000, the Namibian government approved a quota of 67,000 Cape fur seals, including 60,000 pups and 7,000 bulls.[36]

Norway

Hakapiks displayed on the wall of a gun shop in Tromsø, Norway.

The Norwegian sealing season runs from January to September. The hunt involves seal catching by sea-going sealing boats on the Arctic ice shelf, and seal hunting on the coast and islands of mainland Norway. The latter is carried out by small groups of licenced hunters shooting seals from land and using small boats to retrieve the catch. In 2005, Norway began offering seal hunting as a tourist attraction.[37] In 2006, 17,037 seals (including 13,390 harp and 3,647 hooded seals) were harvested.[38] Norwegian seal-hunters are only permitted to use rifles to kill seals. Hakapiks are only allowed for seal catching.[39]

Russia

The Russian seal hunt has not been well monitored since the break-up of the Soviet Union.[40] The quota in 1998 was 35,000 animals.[41] There have been reports that many whitecoat pups are not properly killed and are transported, while injured, to processing areas. In January 2000, a bill to ban seal hunting was passed by the Russian parliament by 273 votes to 1, but was vetoed by President Vladimir Putin.[42]

On September 21, 2007 in Arhangelsk, the Norwegian company GC Rieber Skinn AS, proposed a joint Russian-Norwegian seal hunting project. The campaign was carried out from one hunt boat supplied by GS Rieber skinn AS in 2007, lasted 2 weeks and brought in 40 000 roubles per Russian hunter. GS Rieber skinn AS declared a plan to order 20 boats and donate them to the Pomor.[43] CG Rieber Skinn AS, in 2007 established a daughter company in Arkhangelsk, called GC Rieber Skinn Pomor'e Lic. (GC Rieber Skinn Pomorje).

The Norwegian company Polardrift AS, in 2007, had plans to establish a company in Russia, and operate under Russian flag, in close cooperation with GC Rieber Skinn Pomor'e.

Plans for the 2008 season include both helicopter-based hunt, mainly to take whitecoats, and boat-based hunt, mainly targeting beaters.[44]

Sealing debate

Canada has become the center of the sealing debate because of the comparatively large size of its hunt.

Cruelty to animals

File:Jerry-Vlasak-inspects-seal-carcass.jpg
Dr. Jerry Vlasak (right), spokesman for the Animal Liberation Press Office, and a colleague from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society inspect seal carcasses during the 2005 Canadian hunt.

A study of the 2001 Canadian seal hunt conducted by five independent veterinarians, commissioned by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW, a group opposing Canadian seal hunting), [45] concluded that the hakapik, when used properly, is a humane [46] means of hunting, although some hunters were not using it properly. This improper use, they said, was leading to "considerable and unacceptable suffering," and in 17 percent of the cases they observed, there were no detectable lesions of the skull whatsoever. In numerous other cases, the seals had to be struck multiple times before they were considered "unconscious."[47] This is at odds with a CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) report states that veterinary pathologist, Dr. Pierre-Yves Daoust, at the same time and in the same location, recorded that 86 of 100 examined skulls had been completely crushed by strikes with hakapik. It states further that in 1999, CVMA's Trent K. Bollinger and Keith G. Campbell had recorded that 98.2 percent of the skulls examined were completely crushed.[48]

In 2005, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) commissioned the Independent Veterinarians Working Group Report. With reference to video evidence, the report states: "Perception of the seal hunt seems to be based largely on emotion, and on visual images that are often difficult even for experienced observers to interpret with certainty. While a hakapik strike on the skull of a seal appears brutal, it is humane if it achieves rapid, irreversible loss of consciousness leading to death."[49]

The 2001 report contained a number of recommendations on how sealing could be conducted more humanely. They did not, however, recommend the disuse of the controversial hakapik. Actually, the report recommended more training, mandatory blink-reflex tests for unconsciousness, and the cessation of open-water hunting. The report also recommended that seals be bled out immediately after clubbing, in order to ensure that the animals are unconscious when skinning begins. This is a recommendation taken in response to incidents of seals regaining consciousness after clubbing.[50] It has also been strongly recommended that seals killed by guns to be shot to a quick death, not be wounded and left to die. The 2002 CVMA report, however, indicated an average time of 45.2 seconds between the animal being shot and a sealer killing it with a hakapik. The report concluded that this time compared well with established and acceptable humane killing practices according to the Agreement on International Humane Trapping Standards where acceptable times range from 45-300 seconds.

Ecological feasibility

According to the DFO, the harp seal population is now stable at about five million animals, three times as many seals as in the 1970s. They say that Canada's annual quota of 325,000 harp seals, and an additional 10,000 harp seal allowance for new Aboriginal initiatives, personal use, and Arctic hunts, does not significantly impact the harp seal population. Protestors respond that this figure represents only a fraction of the total number of seals killed, because many seals' bodies fall into the water or under the ice and are not counted. The CVMA has replied that this is untrue for the Canadian seal hunt, and that the Canadian seals that have been "struck and lost" is less than five percent (16,250 animals) of the total harvest. They suggest that this is because, in Canada, the majority of seals are killed on the ice, not in the sea. [4] Animal rights groups say that the population increase is due to the population recovering from the decimation of the 1970s.

Greenpeace has further stated that the quota is an unreliable estimate of the total kill, not only because of "struck and lost" statistics, but also because seals with pelt damage are discarded and not accounted for.[51]

Objections to fur

Main articles: Fur farming and Fur clothing

Animal welfare advocates object to fur, when many synthetic "faux fur" alternatives are available. On the other hand, fur advocates will claim the material's superior warmth, style, and that it is a renewable resource. It is often argued that real is superior to synthetic fur that is petroleum based product and can release highly toxic prussic acid into the environment. Real fur is completely biodegradable and lasts longer. Others counter that the chemicals used to process fur are highly toxic and therefore negate any environmental advantage of fur over synthetic products. Recently, however, great strides have been made in producing commercially tanned pelts using more environmentally friendly processes.

Economic impact

According to Canadian authorities, the value of the 2004 seal harvest was $16.5 million CAD, which significantly contributes to seal manufacturing companies, and for several thousand fishermen and First Nations peoples. For some sealers, they claim, proceeds from the hunt make up a third of their annual income. Critics, however, say that this represents only a tiny fraction of the $600-million Newfoundland fishing industry. Sealing opponents also say that $16.5 million is insignificant, compared to the funding required to regulate and subsidize the hunt. For 1995 and 1996 there are confirmed reports that The Department of Fisheries and Oceans encouraged maximum utilization of harvested seals through a $0.20 per pound meat subsidy.[52] The level of subsidy totalled $650,000 in 1997, $440,000 in 1998 and $250,000 in 1999. There were no meat subsidies in 2000.[53] Some critics, such as the McCartneys (see below), have suggested that promoting that area as an eco-tourism site would be far more lucrative than the annual harvest.[54]

As a culling method

In March 2005, Greenpeace asked DFO to "dispel the myth that seals are hampering the recovery of cod stocks." In doing so, they implied that the seal hunt is, at least in part, a cull designed to increase cod stocks. Cod fishing has traditionally been a key part of the Atlantic fishery, and an important part of the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans have responded that there is no connection between the annual seal harvest and the cod fishery, and that the seal hunt is "established on sound conservation principles."[55]

Protests

Many animal-protection groups encourage people to petition against the harvest. Respect for Animals and Humane Society International believe the hunt will be ended only by the financial pressure of a boycott of Canadian seafood. In 2005, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) called for such a boycott in the United States. [5]

Protesters occasionally use images of whitecoats, despite Canada's ban on the commercial hunting of suckling pups. The HSUS explains this by saying that images of the legally hunted "ragged jackets" can be nearly indistinguishable from those of whitecoats. Also, they report official DFO kill reports show 97 percent of the seals killed over the past five years have been under three months of age, and the majority has been less than one month old. [6]

On March 26, 2006, seven protesters were arrested in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for violating the terms of their observer permits. By law, observers must maintain a ten-meter distance between themselves and the sealers.[56] In the same month, as part of a counter-protest, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams encouraged people in the province to boycott Costco after the retailer decided to stop carrying seal-oil capsules.[57] Costco stated that politics played no role in their decision to remove the capsules, and on April 4 that year, they were again being sold in Costco stores. [7]

Celebrity involvement

Paul McCartney toured the Gulf of St. Lawrence sealing grounds, and spoke out against the seal hunt, in March 2006.

Numerous celebrities have opposed the commercial seal hunt, including Richard Dean Anderson, Charles Aznavour, Kim Basinger, Juliette Binoche,[58] Sir Paul McCartney, Heather Mills McCartney, Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Pamela Anderson, Martin Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, Paris Hilton, Sara Quin,[59] Loretta Swit, Robert Kennedy, Jr.,[60] Rutger Hauer,[61] Brigitte Bardot, Franz Weber, John Paul DeJoria, Ed Begley, Jr., Dave Foreman, Farley Mowat, Linda Blair, Berkeley Breathed, Rolf Harris, the Red Hot Chili Peppers,[62] Jet, The Vines, Hawthorne Heights, Pink, The Darkness, and Good Charlotte.[63]

In March 2006, Brigitte Bardot traveled to Ottawa in March to protest the hunt, though the prime minister turned down a request for a meeting. During the same month, Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney toured the Gulf of St. Lawrence sealing grounds, and spoke out against the seal hunt, including as guests on Larry King Live, where the two debated with Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

On March 27, 2006, singer Morrissey released a statement saying that he will not include any dates in Canada on his current world tour.[64] In July 2007, British/Australian artist and television presenter, Rolf Harris released an acid-techno single entitled "Slaughter on the Ice," made in collaboration with electronic music artist Steve Lima. The song is based on a poem of Harris's that graphically depicts the nature of the hunt and his view of hunters.

In fiction

Kipling's The White Seal, part of The Jungle Book, describes seal hunting from the seals' point of view, with the central character being a white seal seeking for his seals a safe haven from hunters.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Economic Analysis of the Seal Fishery", Fisheries and Oceans, Government of Canada.
  2. ^ a b c "Harp seal: The sealing industry," Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2008.
  3. ^ Norwegian Fishing Authority.
  4. ^ Minister Hearn Announces 2007 Management Measures for Atlantic Seal Hunt
  5. ^ "Harp Seal", Marine Animal Response Society.
  6. ^ "Ringed Seal", Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami.
  7. ^ a b "History of World Fur Sealing".
  8. ^ "Canadian Geographic Sealing Timeline".
  9. ^ "History of World Fur Sealing".
  10. ^ "Commentary & Editorials", Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, 2003.
  11. ^ a b c Daoust, Pierre-Yves (2002). "Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada". The Canadian Veterinary Journal. 43 (9): 687–694. Retrieved 2006-04-06. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Marine Mammal Regulations, SOR/93-56
  13. ^ Save Canadian Seals List of Seal Pelt Users.
  14. ^ (Fur)shion show without clothes
  15. ^ "Belgium first European country to ban all seal products".
  16. ^ "Greenland to Challenge Belgium If Sealskin Is Banned", Bloomberg, 2007.
  17. ^ Ottawa prepares WTO challenge on Belgian seal ban
  18. ^ "EU Rejects Ban on Canadian Seal Products", Forbes, 2007.
  19. ^ "Britain blasted for backing seal ban", The Guardian, 2007.
  20. ^ a b "Atlantic Seal Hunt 2003-2005 Management Plan", Fisheries and Aquaculture Management, Canada.
  21. ^ a b "Frequently Asked Questions About Canada's Seal Hunt", Fisheries and Aquaculture Management, Canada.
  22. ^ "Seal hunt haul 1,000 over quota". CBC News. 2006. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  23. ^ Seal hunt might be on ice due to lack of it, msnbc
  24. ^ "Warming Thins Herd for Canada's Seal Hunt". Washington Post. 2007-04-04. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  25. ^ Heavy ice keeps dozens of vessels from seal hunt
  26. ^ Canadian seal hunters could remain trapped by ice for a week: coast guard
  27. ^ "EU politicians push to ban Canadian seal product imports". Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  28. ^ "Secondary Processing of Seal Skins".
  29. ^ "Seal Hunt Facts". Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
  30. ^ "Seals and sealing in canada".
  31. ^ http://www.sice.oas.org/geograph/mktacc/canada.pdf
  32. ^ "Canada's International Market Access Priorities" (PDF). 2004. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  33. ^ "Seal Hunt Facts".
  34. ^ "The Harp Seal". Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
  35. ^ Greenland bans Canadian sealskins - UPI.com
  36. ^ Namibia to cull 67 000 seals
  37. ^ Fact sheet on Norwegian coastal seals - regjeringen.no
  38. ^ Statistics Norway: Sealing
  39. ^ FOR 1996-05-06 nr 414: Forskrift om forvaltning av sel på norskekysten
  40. ^ SCS: Caspian Seal (Phoca caspica)
  41. ^ News from the High North Alliance
  42. ^ Harp Seal, Pagophilus groenlandicus at MarineBio.org
  43. ^ Istomina, Ludmila. "Rieber Skinn AS has proposed to the Pomors". The Norwegian Barents Secretariat. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  44. ^ "The 36th Session of the Joint Norwegian - Russian Fisheries Commission, St Petersburg, Russia, 22-26 October 2007 (.pdf-file)" (PDF). Government of Norway. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
  45. ^ Ensuring A Sustainable And Humane Seal Harvest
  46. ^ "HSUS Seal protection program".
  47. ^ IFAW study.
  48. ^ Animal welfare and the harp seal hunt in Atlantic Canada
  49. ^ Independent Veterinarians Working Group Report.
  50. ^ The Thick, Deadening Sound of the Seal Hunt [1]
  51. ^ "Greenpeace press release".
  52. ^ December 18, 1995; Tobin announces 1996 Atlantic Seal Management Plan; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; retrieved from www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca February 24, 2008.
  53. ^ 2000; Seals and Sealing in Canada; Fisheries and Oceans Canada; retrieved from www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca February 24, 2008.
  54. ^ "BBC".
  55. ^ "Canadian Seal Hunt Myths and Realities".
  56. ^ Seven protesters arrested as tempers flare in seal hunt, CBC News.
  57. ^ Williams takes aim at Costco over seal-oil fuss, CBC News.
  58. ^ IOL: Anderson adds her voice to chorus of protests
  59. ^ Morrissey Launches Canadian Boycott To Protest Seal Hunt
  60. ^ McCartneys won't be charged
  61. ^ Sea Shepherd and Seal Defenders Take to the Streets
  62. ^ Press Releases & Media Attention about the Canadian Harp seal kill- Harpseals.org
  63. ^ NEWS JET AND THE VINES FIGHT TO SAVE THE SEALS Music, movie & Entertainment News
  64. ^ Statement from Morrissey | True To You

External links

Pro-sealing views
Anti-sealing views
Various
News articles
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