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The federal department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is currently undertaking a review of the Marine Mammal Regulations, which include provisions for sealing. They are proposing a different standard of humaneness for seals that are clubbed than for seals that are shot.
Currently, sealers generally club or shoot several seals in quick succession to immobilize them and prevent them from escaping, and only after there are a number of animals lying on the ice in various stages of injury do they return to see if the animals are dead. DFO’s proposed changes would require that sealers clubbing seals check immediately to ensure each seal is dead and bleed it before proceeding to club another one.
However, sealers shooting seals will still be allowed to shoot several animals in succession before returning to dispatch them. This routinely leaves seals suffering for considerable periods of time as they are usually shot from hundreds of feet away. It should be noted that more than 75% of the total number of harp seals killed each year are shot.
Government representatives and the sealing industry itself frequently compare the hunt with the slaughter of food animals, saying that it is not a pretty sight. But the extent of animal suffering in the seal hunt would not be tolerated in slaughterhouses. Canada has federal and provincial slaughter regulations requiring that animals be killed instantaneously, ensuring each one is dead before proceeding to another animal.
CFHS has viewed extensive footage taken of the seal hunt over the past few years, documenting numerous violations of the current Marine Mammal Regulations. This evidence clearly demonstrates the lack of skill of the sealers and the need for greater enforcement. Another omission in DFO’s proposed changes to the regulations is a requirement for mandatory training of sealers.
A team of five independent veterinarians observed the seal hunt this spring, on the invitation of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. The veterinarians were from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Four of them had experience with wildlife and the fifth was a neurological specialist. Their report concluded that “the hunt is resulting in considerable and unacceptable animal suffering.”
CFHS is asking the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to strengthen the proposed changes to the Marine Mammal Regulations to require a humane death for all animals killed during the seal hunt regardless of the killing method used. To voice your views, you may want to write to the Minister:
The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
(no postage stamp required)
