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An Overview of the Seal Slaughter
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Myth -
It is illegal to
kill baby seals
Fact
- 85% of Canadians define a baby
seal to be under one year of age. Today, more than 95% of the seals
killed in the hunt are under 3 months of age. And while harp seals
are protected until they shed their white coats (at about 12 days of
age), one hundred sealers (including one third of the 1996 Executive
and a former President of the Canadian Sealer's Association) have
faced charges for illegally selling the skins of protected seal
pups.
Myth -
The hunt is humane
Fact -
Over the past five years, the International Fund for Animal Welfare
has submitted video evidence of more than 660 violations of the
Marine Mammal Regulations - including the dragging of conscious seal
pups across the ice with sharpened boat hooks, the stockpiling of
dead and dying animals, beating and stomping seals, and skinning
seals alive - to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. To date,
not a single charge has been laid in response.
Last year, an international
team of veterinary experts attended the hunt. They observed sealers
at work from the air and from the ground, and performed post-mortems
on 73 seal carcasses. Their study concluded that up to 42% of the
seals they examined were likely skinned alive.
Myth -
The hunt is important
to the economy of Atlantic Canada
Fact -
According to the industry's own figures, commercial sealing only
accounted for 0.06% of Newfounland's GDP in 1997, and provided the
equivalent of only 100-120 full-time jobs. In the past seven years
alone, more than $20 million has been provided to the sealing
industry through government grants and interest free loans. It is
estimated that the total value of the seal hunt to Atlantic Canada
equals the annual revenues of one McDonald's outlet. Moreover, the
seal hunt badly tarnishes Canada's international image - putting at
risk other legitimate industries, such as tourism.
Myth -
Canadians are in favour of the seal hunt
Fact -
According to an Angus Reid Group poll released in September, 1997,
85% of Canadians oppose the killing of seal pups under a year old,
82% object to the trade in seal penises, and 75% oppose government
subsidization of the hunt, including a majority of Newfounlanders.
“I saw baby seals struggling after they had
been skinned and making conscious efforts to get away from the
hunters."
The question is who buys Seal products from Canada? :
By Ian Herbert, Genevieve Roberts and Roland Hancock
The Independent - UK
- British retailers insist they do not stock
their products, fur traders claim they are a mere sideline and
a Welsh fashion designer caused a national outcry a few years
ago by using them on the catwalk. But the seals whose
slaughter has turned the Canadian ice blood-red this week are
earning British traders healthy revenues, according to figures
seen by The Independent.
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- EU import/export data for 2003 shows that
nearly 6,000 seal pelts were imported to Britain, many of them
from Canada. Another UK import was seal oil, a new by-product
which is being marketed as a superior alternative to fish oil
health supplements. British consumers may be put off by this
week's pictures of sealers clubbing animals over the head but
the nation's fur brokers and manufacturers are evidently not.
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- The figures suggest that hundreds of the
pelts are being handled by British brokers, who import them
from Canada via Norwegian tanneries and mark them up for
export to Russia. The country has a Baltic Sea cull of its own
and does not share western Europe's distaste for the cull.
Saudi Arabia and South Korea are the next biggest markets for
the British seal fur brokers.
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- The figures also show Britain is exporting
thousands fewer pelts than it is importing - an indication
that many are being passed on to British clothing
manufacturers and tailored into garments for export. The
mark-up potential is considerable. A three-quarter length coat
lined with seal fur will sell for up to Ä2,500 (£1,660) in
Russia and other eastern European countries, and as much as
Ä4,500 (£3,000) in Denmark. The fur has also become far more
popular in Greece, Italy and Asia.
-
- "Year after year we see this kind of trade
surplus in Britain," said a spokeswoman for the International
Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). "It [seems] a number of
[British] firms are doing the manufacturing and sending
finished products off." The British Fur Trade Association this
week admitted some of its members do trade in fur but would
not disclose which. Neither would it reveal what revenues the
seal fur business bring in. But its spokeswoman, Andrea
Martin, did indicate the value of seal pelts has risen to
around 60 Canadian dollars (£25) apiece.
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- Eastern Europe is not the only place
providing a burgeoning market for British seal exporters.
After years of being taboo, seal fur has made something of a
comeback in the past few years. A Louis Vuitton collection in
Paris showed coats, tunics and pinafore dresses made from
sealskin. Donatella Versace also featured sealskin in her
first collection.
-
- Seal fur can also be used in less
obtrusive ways. The fur's flatter hair is used as a decorative
feature on the top of shoes and a penchant for fur trim in the
teenage fashion market may have seen it used on vests and
jackets in the past 12 months, although the source of the fur
may not be obvious once dyed.
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- But it is seal oil which is of particular
concern to animal welfare activists. The Vegan Society claims
the oil's origin may be disguised in the UK by use of the term
"marine oil" on packaging. "We know these terms are widely
used, and cover things like seal, whale and dolphin oils,"
said spokeswoman Catriona Toms.
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- The trade figures show oil worth Ä31,000
(£20,600) was imported to Britain last year and oil-related
goods worth Ä161,000 (£107,000) were exported. The product is
naturally high in Omega-3 oil, which can be used in skin
creams and lip balms. Sealers have been helped by the Canadian
government subsidies to find major markets for it.
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- Seal furs have other, more unusual uses in
the UK. Traditional Scottish sporrans are made from fur and
highland outfitters like Nicoll Brothers, Kinloch Anderson and
The Scottish Store still sell the genuine article for around
£180. The fur is also used as bait for the fishing industry,
by virtue of its remarkably good buoyancy. A leading store,
Barlows, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, confirmed seal fur is
still used and sold in the UK. Other uses promoted by sealers
include salami, pepperoni and seal sausage, marketed as high
in iron and low in fat.
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- In Canada, sealers say their brief seal
harvest - which protects the youngest "whitecoat" seal pups of
up to 12 days' old - brings a much-needed boost to family
incomes. But the British Government shares IFAW's concerns
about the cull, which will have claimed the lives of 350,000
seals by May's close of hunting season. Foreign Office
minister Mike O'Brien is known to be pressing for a relaxation
of World Trade Organisation rules which forbid EU countries
restricting imports on the basis of animal welfare concerns.
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- "Britain does not accept the need for a
seal cull and the Canadians are well aware of that," a Foreign
Office spokeswoman said yesterday.
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- VUITTON AND VERSACE PUT SKIN IN NEW
COLLECTIONS
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- By Ian Herbert
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- A Louis Vuitton collection has used
sealskin in coats, tunics and pinafore dresses. Donatella
Versace made it a part of her first show. It is also used
decoratively on shoes and as a trim on coats, vests and
jackets.
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- Traditional Scottish sporrans, right, are
also made from seal fur and retail at as much as £180.
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- Seal oil is naturally high in omega-3
fatty acids, which is said to combat arthritis. The Canadian
Sealers' Association has also worked on a lotion for eczema
and psoriasis. It be also used in skin creams and lip balms
and sealers energy and food products Seal penises are shipped
to Asia as aphrodisiacs and can sell for up to £200 each. The
sealers have also developed seal protein drink for
sportspeople.
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- Meats include salami, pepperoni and seal
sausage. The buoyancy of seal fur also makes it a popular bait
for the fishing industry.
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