YES VIRGINIA THEY STILL HUNT SEALS IN CANADA
CBC
Wed, October 23, 2024
Gil Thériault, director of the Intra Quebec Sealers Association, says his group has been lobbying for personal-use licences 'for many years.' (Submitted by Édouard Plante-Fréchette - image credit)
Quebec sealers are praising a new federal pilot project to expand personal-use seal-hunting licences to people on Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick — and an animal welfare group says the move is "not really a concern" if the hunt is carried out humanely and sustainably.
The licences are a "great idea," according to Gil Thériault, director of the Intra-Quebec Sealers Association, an advocacy group representing sealers in the province.
"We've been expecting that for many years — and demanding that for many years," Thériault said Wednesday.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced Tuesday that it will grant an unspecified number of personal-use licences this year to hunt grey and harp seals in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
Each licence will let the holder harvest up to six harp and/or grey seals, DFO said in a news release. Those are two of the four kinds of seals that spend at least part of the year in the waters around P.E.I.
Until now, only hunters in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec could apply for such licences in Eastern Canada.
A young harp seal rests on the ice off the coast of Cape Breton island, Nova Scotia, March 31, 2008. Heavy pack ice has made it difficult for sealers to reach the young seals.
New personal-use licences would allow P.E.I. hunters an annual harvest of up to six harp and/or grey seals each. Here, a harp seal is shown resting on the late-winter ice off the coast of Nova Scotia. (Paul Darrow/Reuters)
The changes to personal-use seal licences came in response to "growing interest" in the hunt, according to DFO.
CBC News reached out to DFO for comment, but the department did not make a spokesperson available.
'There's a will,' sealer says
Thériault said he's witnessed growing interest as well.
He said about 25 prospective hunters, most of them involved in the fisheries, attended an information session about personal-use licences he hosted on P.E.I. in August.
A young grey seal appears to be napping on the ice.
DFO's most recent population estimate for grey seals, such as the one shown here, was 366,400 in 2021. Its most recent population estimate for harp seals dates back to 2019, when it stood at 4.7 million seals. (Charles Caraguel)
"There's a will," he said, before adding that it will take time for hunters on the Island to familiarize themselves with how best to take the animals.
Given that time, however, Thériault hopes the personal-use licences will be a first step toward the return of a wider commercial seal hunt in the region.
"What we want to do is reinvent seal hunting and spread that recipe somehow in the Maritimes and elsewhere in Quebec," he said.
He views seal hunting as a potential solution to improve fish stocks by limiting the "overabundant" population of seals that are now feeding on species like cod, squid and herring.
DFO's most recent population estimate for harp seals dates back to 2019, when it stood at 4.7 million seals. Its most recent estimate for grey seals was 366,400, in 2021.
Commercial hunt not viable: animal welfare group
But the director of wildlife campaigns for the International Fund for Animal Welfare says commercial seal hunting has not proven to be economically viable.
Frozen harp seal meat harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador. Seal in French is 'loup marine' or 'phoque.' (Jane Adey/CBC) See 'loup marin' in package.
Frozen harp seal meat harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador is shown at a culinary festival in Quebec. 'If someone wants to go out and hunt a seal to feed their family... it's not really a concern for us,' says Sheryl Fink, the director of wildlife campaigns for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. (Jane Adey/CBC)
Sheryl Fink said that although her organization opposes commercial seal hunting, it does not oppose the new personal-use licences for P.E.I.
If it's done humanely and it's going to be done sustainably, in a proper manner, it's not really a concern for us. — Sheryl Fink, International Fund for Animal Welfare
"If someone wants to go out and hunt a seal to feed their family, I think that's — if it's done humanely and it's going to be done sustainably, in a proper manner — it's not really a concern for us," she said.
Fink said no scientific evidence supports the notion that reducing the number of seals in the region will help fish stocks rebound.
"What we do know is that when we try to balance ecosystems by removing large components of it, we generally make things worse, not better," she said.
Besides, she added, market demand for seal products simply does not exist. Instead, she said, proper management of all fisheries should leave enough fish to go around for humans and all kinds of animals — including seals.
CBC
Wed, October 23, 2024
Gil Thériault, director of the Intra Quebec Sealers Association, says his group has been lobbying for personal-use licences 'for many years.' (Submitted by Édouard Plante-Fréchette - image credit)
Quebec sealers are praising a new federal pilot project to expand personal-use seal-hunting licences to people on Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick — and an animal welfare group says the move is "not really a concern" if the hunt is carried out humanely and sustainably.
The licences are a "great idea," according to Gil Thériault, director of the Intra-Quebec Sealers Association, an advocacy group representing sealers in the province.
"We've been expecting that for many years — and demanding that for many years," Thériault said Wednesday.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced Tuesday that it will grant an unspecified number of personal-use licences this year to hunt grey and harp seals in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.
Each licence will let the holder harvest up to six harp and/or grey seals, DFO said in a news release. Those are two of the four kinds of seals that spend at least part of the year in the waters around P.E.I.
Until now, only hunters in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec could apply for such licences in Eastern Canada.
A young harp seal rests on the ice off the coast of Cape Breton island, Nova Scotia, March 31, 2008. Heavy pack ice has made it difficult for sealers to reach the young seals.
New personal-use licences would allow P.E.I. hunters an annual harvest of up to six harp and/or grey seals each. Here, a harp seal is shown resting on the late-winter ice off the coast of Nova Scotia. (Paul Darrow/Reuters)
The changes to personal-use seal licences came in response to "growing interest" in the hunt, according to DFO.
CBC News reached out to DFO for comment, but the department did not make a spokesperson available.
'There's a will,' sealer says
Thériault said he's witnessed growing interest as well.
He said about 25 prospective hunters, most of them involved in the fisheries, attended an information session about personal-use licences he hosted on P.E.I. in August.
A young grey seal appears to be napping on the ice.
DFO's most recent population estimate for grey seals, such as the one shown here, was 366,400 in 2021. Its most recent population estimate for harp seals dates back to 2019, when it stood at 4.7 million seals. (Charles Caraguel)
"There's a will," he said, before adding that it will take time for hunters on the Island to familiarize themselves with how best to take the animals.
Given that time, however, Thériault hopes the personal-use licences will be a first step toward the return of a wider commercial seal hunt in the region.
"What we want to do is reinvent seal hunting and spread that recipe somehow in the Maritimes and elsewhere in Quebec," he said.
He views seal hunting as a potential solution to improve fish stocks by limiting the "overabundant" population of seals that are now feeding on species like cod, squid and herring.
DFO's most recent population estimate for harp seals dates back to 2019, when it stood at 4.7 million seals. Its most recent estimate for grey seals was 366,400, in 2021.
Commercial hunt not viable: animal welfare group
But the director of wildlife campaigns for the International Fund for Animal Welfare says commercial seal hunting has not proven to be economically viable.
Frozen harp seal meat harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador. Seal in French is 'loup marine' or 'phoque.' (Jane Adey/CBC) See 'loup marin' in package.
Frozen harp seal meat harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador is shown at a culinary festival in Quebec. 'If someone wants to go out and hunt a seal to feed their family... it's not really a concern for us,' says Sheryl Fink, the director of wildlife campaigns for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. (Jane Adey/CBC)
Sheryl Fink said that although her organization opposes commercial seal hunting, it does not oppose the new personal-use licences for P.E.I.
If it's done humanely and it's going to be done sustainably, in a proper manner, it's not really a concern for us. — Sheryl Fink, International Fund for Animal Welfare
"If someone wants to go out and hunt a seal to feed their family, I think that's — if it's done humanely and it's going to be done sustainably, in a proper manner — it's not really a concern for us," she said.
Fink said no scientific evidence supports the notion that reducing the number of seals in the region will help fish stocks rebound.
"What we do know is that when we try to balance ecosystems by removing large components of it, we generally make things worse, not better," she said.
Besides, she added, market demand for seal products simply does not exist. Instead, she said, proper management of all fisheries should leave enough fish to go around for humans and all kinds of animals — including seals.
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