Canadian Seal Meat Sale to China Stalled!

The Canadian seal hunt is anything but humane. Each year, tens of thousands of harp seals are slaughtered for their fur and meat through brutal means that include the use of wooden clubs, hakapiks (clubs with sharp picks at the end), and shot guns.

The industry has been on a downward spiral for years, with markets closing up in Europe after an EU ban on seal products was instituted in 2009.

Yet, the sealing industry and the Canadian government have long defended the annual slaughter as a “tradition” and a “sustainable” endeavor that is necessary to stop seals from eating all the fish and damaging the economy (although anyone aware of the devastating effects of overfishing knows that humans, not seals, have caused fish numbers to drop drastically.)

Since markets have dried up in Europe, the industry has sought profit elsewhere. In 2011, a deal to sell seal meat in China was announced, yet it has remained ever since stalled, thanks to animal advocates who have tirelessly campaigned against the industry and continues to raise awareness about the plight of harp seals. Now that’s some activist power!

“Part of the thing that’s holding it up is that Animal rights groups put a lot of pressure on there as well, on the Chinese,” Canadian Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “We have to keep telling the world that this is a sustainable hunt. It’s a humane hunt.”

Sorry Canada, but the world just isn’t buying it anymore – literally and figuratively speaking. Sheryl Fink, International Fund for Animal Welfare director of wildlife campaigns in Canada, credits “home-grown animal welfare groups” in helping reveal the industry’s lies.

While the hunt still continues to this day and with a massive 400,000 quota for the 2014 season, the stalled deal in China is a sign that the industry is losing ground and that advocacy does have an effect if efforts are sustained. So let’s take this as good news that we may see an end to Canada’s cruel seal hunt in the coming years!

Image source: Visit Greenland / Flickr