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Protesters call for end to 'barbaric' seal hunt
Despite such rallies, the the annual hunt is growing

Charlie Anderson
The Province; with files from The Canadian Press

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Anti-seal-hunt protesters took to Vancouver streets yesterday in a bid to revive disgust at the annual hunt set to begin in a few weeks.

But while scattered pockets of protesters gathered in more than 50 cities in Canada and worldwide, the 250-year-old Newfoundland hunt appears to be stronger than ever.

Outside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office, 50 demonstrators marched with placards condemning the hunt and called for a boycott of Canadian fish products if one seal is clubbed.

About 300,000 harp-seal pups are scheduled to be killed on the ice off Newfoundland in April for their oil, meat and, most importantly, their skins.

"It's mindless, it's unbelievable, it's incomprehensible, it's just sickening," said protester Kevan Garner.

"Just because it's a tradition doesn't mean it's justified. It's barbaric."

A small group of protesters on Ottawa's Parliament Hill were jeered by Jessie Mike, a native woman from Nunavik.

"This is part of our culture," said Mike. "When we sell the skins, people get food to be able to survive."

Between 1972 and 1982, an average 166,000 harp seals were slaughtered annually. Between 1983 and 1995, that number dwindled to 52,000 each year, but in the years since 1996, the numbers killed have jumped to an average of 243,000.

Newfoundland authorized 975,000 to be killed in the three years between 2003 and 2005.

Opponents claim the hunt is unsustainable, that the numbers killed are under-reported and that the bludgeoning and skinning of the animals is inhumane.

DFO spokesman Phil Jenkins said Canada's harp-seal population is healthy at over five million.

"This is a humane, sustainable, viable natural resource that is growing and in really good shape right now," said Jenkins.

canderson@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2005