Canada’s seal hunt: One opponent leaves the ice as another vows to settle in

An international animal rights group that physically observes Canada’s annual seal hunt says it will no longer take to the ice to protest the cull and will instead focus on lobbying for changes from the government. But another group says it is more important than ever to keep watch over the annual slaughter.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) told CBC News they would skip the seal hunt for the first time in nearly 20 years, because observing the hunt may actually be keeping it alive.

“A lot of times just by being out there and being on the ice we sort of keep this thing alive,” said Sheryl Fink, head of IFAW’s seal hunt campaign. “I think if we take a step back, our hope at least is that this thing will continue towards its inevitable demise.”

[ Related: Fishermen glad anti-seal hunt group staying off ice ]

Those who oppose the seal hunt still have a lot of work to do where public policy is concerned. The federal government is still contesting international bans on seal products. And Newfoundland just issued another $3.6 million in loans to a seal processing plant ahead of this year's hunt.

Rebecca Aldworth, executive director of Humane Society International Canada, told Yahoo! Canada News in an interview that while only 800 sealers took part in the hunt last year, it was more important than ever to observe the cull.

Yahoo! Canada: What are your thoughts about IFAW’s decision to forgo the seal hunt, and what will you be doing to oppose it this year?

Rebecca Aldworth: First of all, Humane Society International documents the commercial seal hunt every year that it goes on and we will absolutely be there this year to film and bear witness to the slaughter of the baby seals. It is essential that we go out every year this hunt continues. The Canadian government changes very, very slightly the conditions of permits or regulations just about every year. If we don’t film what happens, the first thing that sealing advocates say is “things have changed now.”

We are also aware that the seal hunt takes place in a public space but out of public view. Our cameras are the eyes of the world, we are the only way the international community, and Canadians as well, can see what is happening on the ice floes to these seals. We take that responsibility very seriously. We will be there as long as the hunt continues.

Yahoo! Canada: Does part of your opposition involve appealing to the government? Is it possible to do both observation and government lobbying?

Aldworth: Absolutely, we are promoting on the national level a federal buyout of the commercial sealing industry. We think that is a great way to move beyond the national seal hunt in a way that will not economically penalize the people involved. Fishery buyouts are fairly common on the east coast of Canada. In fact, since 1992 the federal government has spent more than $4 billion doing various fishery diversification projects. We think the same thing can be done with the sealing hunt. We’ve done some polling in the community and found that half of the sealers in Newfoundland … are in support of the idea. We think if the sealers themselves are willing to move beyond sealing, it is time the federal government listened.

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Yahoo! Canada: IFAW said they would stop observing the seal hunt because it may be helping to keep the hunt alive.

Aldworth: To give you the context of how I interpreted that comment, I think what they said was that IFAW feels that continuing to film the hunt and broadcast those images is telling the public that it is still going on, when in their view it is coming to an end.

Yahoo! Canada: And what is your take on that?

Aldworth: The Newfoundland government just poured $3.6 million into the commercial sealing industry. This hunt is still going on. It is going on at a greatly reduced rate – we also think it is coming to an end. But it is coming to an end because of the pressure we are exerting every year. From our perspective, it is very important to stay out there, continue documenting what is going on, to continue providing that evidence to governments around the world. Not just to make sure more countries stop their trade in seal products but to protect the bans that are already in place. We are just one organization, and every organization has the right to approach this in the way they deem most effective.

Interview has been condensed for space and clarity.