Science and economics support us
A precautionary tale, March 10, 2005
The Seal Hunt
By Larry Simpson

We are anxious about how the eastern Canada harp seal hunt is being repackaged for the public by the fundraising appetite of the animal-rights industry. Never has there been a cash cow like the seal for shameless fundraisers tainting the good name of real environmentalism.

Nunavummiut are not Newfoundlanders, and Inuit hunt ringed seals, not harp seals.

Groups such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare and a colonizing Humane Society of the United States say they are not against aboriginal "subsistence harvesting," but are targeting the large-scale commercial harp seal hunt supported by what they call "bad science and bogus economics." In fact, the science is good and the economics are good, but it hardly matters because the war is being waged on the basis of false images and mistruths.

It may be a surprise to some who no longer question the ongoing barrage of misinformation about sealing, but younger whitecoat seals have not been harvested for decades, and seal harvesting methods have consistently been found to be relatively humane.

So, we know that if Newfoundland falls, we are next. Our hunt for ringed seals may be sustainable in biological and economic terms, but still not make the grade in terms of fundamentalist animal-rights morality.

We like to think there is more tolerance for the Nunavut hunt because it is aboriginal, it is rooted in the culture, the seal skin is a by-product of the food hunt, because we have fewer economic alternatives, we have a good environmental record, and so on. But we are still next, because we are humans and we kill animals and use them as a resource, even if it is a bountiful renewable resource.

The Nunavut hunt is family-organized, driven by the need for food on the table. However, in keeping with our whole-utilization principle, we also sell commercial seal products ranging from surplus skins to fashion garments (seal skins are functional and very beautiful). This cash income helps Inuit hunters finance the subsistence hunt, and keeps people close to the land.

But we are still next ...

Larry Simpson,
Iqaluit, Nunavut, 
Senior adviser, fisheries and sealing, 
Department of Environment, 
Government of Nunavut

(Source: The Ottawa Citizen, 2005.03.15, page A11, Letter to Editor)