We are outraged by the news half a million seal cubs will be slaughtered in Canada this week as the country’s horrifyingly cruel seal hunt begins despite the fact that the commercial seal industry is failing miserably. Prime Minister Trudeau is undoubtedly to blame for this atrocity due to his lack of taking action to stop this barbaric act.
Canada is now under the scrutiny of every activist as the country continues implementing seal hunting. Due to the current state of the seal industry all over the world, protesters are urging the government to stop the animal trade practices.
The US, Russia and EU nations are among 35 countries to have banned the trade in seal products on ethical grounds amid claims cubs are sometimes skinned while still alive.
But Canada expects the only major remaining seal market – China – to pick up some of the slack this year.
It was announced last year that Canada will spend $150,000 CND to promote its northern sealing industry and that it is the first installation of the five-year, $5.7 million Certification and Market Access Program for Seals. Despite efforts by protesters from around the globe, the current Prime Minister of Canada has not made any efforts to prevent the plan from going forward.
There are currently only a few hundred active sealers – down from an estimated 6,000 in 2006 – and in 2014 the total value of commercial seal products coming out of Canada was just $500,000. Yet, according to recently obtained government documents, the hunt is costing Canadians $2 million more than that in annual tax expenditures. This includes $1 million for icebreakers, $475,000 for helicopters and $375,000 in overtime for those monitoring the hunt. It does not take into account the millions more in marketing dollars and subsidies the Canadian and local governments devote to keeping the hunt going.
The seal slaughter is also subsidized by Canada’s taxpayers. Rather than find alternative livelihoods for unemployed people in economically depressed areas, the politicians give them the seals, as though seals were renewable resources, and as though sacrificing them is a socially responsible action to provide gainful employment.
Furthermore, Canada is throwing money into the dying, outdated and horrifically cruel fur industry which has no place in modern society. The young seals are in fact killed on the ice when they are only weeks old to feed the diminishing demand of furriers due to the fact that the pup’s coats only stay white for a short time before changing color. Seals are not resources or commodities to be traded. They’re entitled to be left alone. We deplore the seal hunt for the suffering and death it imposes on every single seal.