Most Canadians favour seal hunt, poll finds

Canadian Press
Tuesday, September 06, 2005

ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) -- As the federal government prepares to set new quotas this fall for the controversial East Coast seal hunt, the Fisheries Department has armed itself with a $5,000 poll that suggests the majority of Canadians support the hunt.

The Ipsos-Reid poll, completed in February, found 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they supported to some degree Ottawa's current policy on the annual hunt.

With the proviso that no nursing seals are hunted, that the killing is done in a humane manner and that quotas are set to ensure that seal populations are sustained, pollsters asked 1,000 Canadians whether they agreed or disagreed with current federal seal hunt policy.

"We face a battle for hearts and minds sometimes with animal rights groups who have figures of their own and polls of their own," said Phil Jenkins, spokesman for the Fisheries Department.

The last federal survey on the matter was done in 2000, he said.