Mike Stephen has sent us the following RSPCA position statement on the seal hunt. He wonders why the BC SPCA has not yet issued a statement.

A three-year programme to slaughter more than a million seals in Canada, to protect fish stocks, has been branded cruel and without scientific justification by the RSPCA.

The devastating cull involves seals being shot and clubbed by hunters, then skinned - possibly while still alive. The total quota issued by the Canadian government includes 975,000 harp seals and 30,000 hooded seals.

Canada clearly states its aim is to reduce seal numbers believing they are responsible for the fall in fish stocks. The government also claims the hunt is providing a valuable income for 12,000 sealers living in eastern Canada.

The RSPCA is calling for an end to the barbaric killing, which will run for six months this year.

Scientific rationale
RSPCA marine scientific officer Laila Sadler said: "There is no evidence to demonstrate that seal populations have any significant detrimental impact on commercial fish stocks, and there is no scientific rationale for the Canadian government's seal quotas. The rate of slaughter is not sustainable and we know the removal of up to 350,000 seals a year will cause harp seal populations to decline.

"We are also concerned that as pack ice fails to form during the increasingly mild winters, reproductive rates of the seals may be lower than predicted and these hunts could drive populations down to unsafe levels."

Cruel killing
Evidence shows that seals are regularly clubbed after being shot, indicating that a single bullet did not kill them.

An RSPCA expert joined four other international independent vets to examine seals killed in the 2001 annual hunt. They analysed video footage that revealed animals were clubbed several times before being skinned and most hunters did not appear to check the seal was dead before skinning it.

When 76 skinned carcasses were checked, almost half of them lacked sufficient impact injuries on their skulls to kill or permanently stun them, which means they may have been alive and conscious when skinned.

Take action
If you are concerned about the culling you can write to the Canadian High Commissioner pointing out to him that there is no scientific justification for the cull and that it results in great suffering.

Please write to: The Honourable Mr Mel Cappe, Canadian High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Canadian High Commission, 38 Grosvenor Street, London, W1K 4AA.

You can also help by expressing your concern to the minister in charge of setting the quota for the seal cull: The Honourable Geoff Regan, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Canada, or e-mail Min@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

You can also write to the minister in charge of the province where the seals are killed: The Honourable R. John Efford, Minister of Natural Resources, House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6 Canada.