This year, the Canadian government has set the quota for its yearly seal hunt higher than ever. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) set the quota at 468,200 harp, Grey, and hood seals. That is an increase of almost 150,000 from last year.
Why would people want to kill the seals? There are a lot of products that can be made from seals such as fur coats, bags, and clothing, but still others want them for the meat, oil, blubber and even seal oil for the making of some omega-3 pills. Reports say there are about 6,000 seal hunters who once made as much as 10 million dollars by exporting a quarter of their bounty to Europe.
From what I’ve read, the seals are almost all less than three months in age and they are brutally killed. As you can imagine, many animal rights organizations have spoken out against this practice of killing seals. While researching this article, I was almost nauseous from seeing pics of these seals bloodied and beaten.
The Human Society and International Fund for Animal Welfaer (IFAW) both called the increased kill quota “irresponsible.” As they often do, PETA supporters took it a step further. Two of their members, Ashley Fruno and Michelle Chen from the Asian branch of PETA, staged a topless protest in front of the Canadian offices in Taipei. Their bodies were painted red and white in the shape of the Canadian flag and they held signs that said “Stop the bloody seal slaughter: and “Don’t buy seal products.” Other PETA members demonstrated in Manila, Melbourne, Sydney, Thailand, and Tokyo.
The good news (if there can be any) is that the kills seemed to be declining, even as the quota gets higher. The U.S., Mexico, Croatia, and the European Union put a ban on seal products, so the hunters aren’t hunting as much. Also, there’s a lack of ice due to climate change, but that hurts not only the hunters, but also the seals themselves.