Courtesy by Sheryl Fink. http://www.ifaw.org/
Canadian Senator Mac Harb will formally re-introduce legislation to end the commercial seal hunt in Canada.
Despite decades of support from the Canadian government, the market outlook for seal products remains bleak. The European Union market is closed to non-Inuit seal products; Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have banned the import of harp seal pelts, shutting off 90% of Canada’s exports; the Chinese seal-meat deal has not been finalized; and even $3.6 million in bailout money from the Newfoundland government has failed to draw large numbers of sealers to the hunt so far this year.
The writing is on the wall – the world does not want, nor need, products made from Canada’s dead seals.
The end of the commercial sealing industry is in sight. It is time for the Canadian government to face the reality that commercial sealing is neither viable nor necessary in this day and age, and there are no indications that it will become so in the future.
Instead of propping up this dying industry with bailouts and other financial assistance, any government support provided to the sealing industry should be in the form of a restructuring and transition plan to end commercial sealing and compensate affected individuals.
We at the International Fund for Animal Welfare support Senator Harb and applaud his commitment to end commercial sealing in Canada. We know that all good things are difficult to achieve, and we will not give up the fight to end commercial sealing for good.
Take action now and contact members of the Senate of Canada, asking them to support Senator Harb’s bill to end the commercial seal hunt in Canada.
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